Power Hungry
by Bloody Dead Rose
Summary: Artemis Fowl is a legend underground. He is feared by all The People. But now, 20 years later another threat has appeared. Artemis Fowl III has discovered The People, and he perhaps might be even more dangerous then his father. Completed
1. The Fowls

Disclaimers are so freaking annoying! You know the drill, I'm not Eoin Colfer and I did not create Artemis Fowl.  
  
A/N: this fanfic takes place as if EC never happened.  
  
"Face it, if crime did not pay then there would be very few criminals." -Laughton Lewis Burdock  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Artemis Fowl the third gingerly pressed the ice pack against his black eye. Aidan told him that fighting Connor was a bad idea, but did he listen? Noooo, he's too good to take advice from his sister, even when later on he finds that she is usually right. He shouldn't let guys like Connor get to him, he knew that, but ever since he enrolled in that school Connor had it in for him.  
  
He glanced over to his left and saw Connor sitting there, big clumps of tears streaming down his face. Artemis, who goes by his middle name, Brian, due to how confusing having three Artemis' would be, shook his head. Pathetic.  
  
Connor had actually picked the fight with Brian so it is his own fault that he has a broken hand. They both seemed to have decided to go to the school library at the same time and ran into each other in the hallway. After passing a few clever comments, fists started to swing. Now see Brian would have preferred to keep the row between himself and Connor all in insults, because Brian was not exactly the athletic type, which was very unfortunate for him. Even Unfortunate for Brian was that Connor's fist moved first, right into Brian's eye. Connor probably weighs 178, where as Brian weighs about 110, so you can imagine how far Brian was thrown back with this punch. Brian's back was to the wall as Connor slowly advanced on him.  
  
Right when he was about to again hit Brian, Brian suddenly ducked, and Connor's hand smashed into the wall breaking four of his fingers.  
  
Connor must have felt Brian's eyes on him cause he quickly wiped away the tears and glared at him.  
  
"What are you lookin' at Fowl?" Connor demanded, though he tried to sound tough his voice shook.  
  
"A cry baby who can't even take a little hurt," Brian said with a smirk. "I bet when your mommy comes she'll give you a big kiss and make it all better."  
  
"Fowl." what followed this sounded much like a growl.  
  
"Brilliantly put Connor," replied Brian smugly.  
  
"Brian your butler is here to pick you up," said the school nurse slowly as she came into the back room.  
  
"Bye Connor," said Brian as he stood up. "Oh and don't forget to tell mommy that you need an extra bowl of ice-cream tonight."  
  
Brian was out of the room before Connor's brain was able to realize what he had said.  
  
Brian stepped outside and saw Kyle waiting for him. Kyle Butler was Brian's butler/bodyguard, and Brian was not the least bit surprised to seem him instead of his father. Artemis Fowl II didn't even seem to notice that Brian and Aidan were alive, let alone pick them up from school.  
  
Brian smiled as Kyle opened the Bentley car door for him.  
  
"That's quite a shiner," started Kyle as Brian slid in. "Master Fowl will not be pleased."  
  
"If he even realizes that I'm hurt," mumbled Brian.  
  
"Pardon me sir?" asked Kyle.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"How long are you suspended for?" asked Kyle as he slid into the driver's seat.  
  
"A week," responded Brian casually. "Headmaster Vincent says that he will not tolerate fighting at the Carmody Academy. He is worried that it will make him look like a bad headmaster. Even after I get back to school though I have to take anger management classes."  
  
Kyle did not respond to this, it didn't bother Brian though. So what if being suspended went on his permit record? It wasn't as if he expected his permit record to be clean, not when he had his own personal file in Interpol. Brian was no different from the rest of his family. The Fowl's were infamous for being criminals, and Brian did not plan to be the one Fowl who wasn't one. His father was probably the best criminal ever born into the Fowl family, but Brian planned to have that title passed to him someday. He wouldn't just be the best Fowl criminal; he would be the best criminal in the world. 


	2. EMail

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, I do not own anything else that you might recognize in this chapter or the last either, except maybe the twins, and John and Kyle Butler, and Amber. Well okay I do own a lot of them, but you get what I'm saying. In other words "don't own em, don't claim too, don't sue me!!!!!"  
  
A/N: I would like to thank SurrealAllStar for allowing me to use The Carmody Academy.  
  
Thank you everyone who reviewed, especially Mage Kitty, I didn't realize I had the things as one big paragraph. Thanx!!!!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Just as Brian suspected Artemis didn't notice the black and blue bruise. Actually, Artemis barely noticed him. Brian got home around 1:15, due to him being suspended, and went up to his room. He passed Artemis on the staircase, and said a greeting. Artemis was carrying several papers, glanced up for a moment, and said a quick hello then walked right past. The 6'6 Butler was right behind him, who at least acknowledged his cousin Kyle better then Artemis had acknowledged his own son.  
  
Artemis left for about two hours and when he returned home he locked himself in his study, and didn't leave it till around 6:30, and that was to go out again. Amber, Brian's mother, did indeed notice the black eye though, and the conversation went something like this:  
  
"Oh my god, Brian what happened?" she gasped when she saw him.  
  
Brian sighed and recounted the entire story for her.  
  
Amber was hardly shocked or distressed by this news, at least not as bad as Angeline would have been.  
  
"Did you win?" She had asked when he had finished.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Brian raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Did you win?" She said slowly.  
  
"Well, I guess I came off better then Connor did," he stared in shock at his mother.  
  
"That's my boy," she had said, then walked off without a second glance.  
  
Aidan, on the other hand, had been completely livid.  
  
"You get a week off from school for being bad?! That is so not fair at all!" She had screamed at him when she got home from school. "While as us non-fighting kids get homework you get the week off!"  
  
"With failing grades for all the homework and tests," he had told her calmly.  
  
She had simply scoffed and walked off.  
  
Brian had taken a leaf out of his father's book and had locked himself in his room for several hours reading. When he finally ran out of books to read in his room around 7:15, he reluctantly went into his father's study to search the books in there.  
  
The study, now empty, was almost eerie with just one lamp lit in it. Brian ran his fingers over the books spines, quickly reading the titles. Read it, read it, read it. then his fingers fell onto a book which spine was labeled "The Thread that runs so true."  
  
What is this? He silently asked himself.  
  
He stood in his father's study, completely immersed in the book when a beeping sound from his father's computer made him jump.  
  
"You've got mail," an electronic voice from the computer stated.  
  
"Father never leaves his computer on," Brian wondered aloud as he stepped towards the computer, planning to shut it down.  
  
His fingers lay on the mouse and he was about to go to the shut down button when the computer screen caught his eye.  
  
From: Cap.H.Short@LEP.com  
  
Subject: none  
  
Hello, he silently thought, and who might you be? He was about to click on 'check mail' when another voice in his heads screamed that this was wrong, this was his father's private e-mail. He debated with himself for several minutes until his curiosity got the better of him and he collapsed into Artemis's chair. He clicked on 'check mail'.  
  
The e-mail popped out at him, and it was obvious that it had been typed in a hurry.  
  
Artemis, trubl in hvn. Cdgon has son, tring to get rvnge for fthrs dath. Ned hlp, ples cme to tara.  
  
It was easy enough for Brian to decode, but some words didn't seem to mean anything that made sense:  
  
Artemis, trouble in ____. _____ has a son, trying to get revenge for father's death. Need help, please come to Tara.  
  
"Watcha doin'?" suddenly a female voice made Brian jump.  
  
"Aidan!" He snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up of me?!"  
  
"You've never told me that."  
  
"Well I'm telling you now. Go away, I'm busy," he replied angrily.  
  
"Ooooooo, your reading dad's e-mail, I'm gonna tell," chanted Aidan in a singsong voice. "Dad'll..... What the heck?"  
  
"I know, it doesn't make any sense except for that someone needs dads help," said Brian. "I'm going to track this e-mail to see where it was sent from."  
  
"Who's H.Short?"  
  
"That's why I'm tracking the e-mail, to find out," said Brian, clicking buttons on the keyboard.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"What's going on? The computer..." suddenly the computer went dead. No explosives, nothing, it just went dead.  
  
"What happened?" asked Aidan.  
  
"I'm not sure," replied Brian. "But I know a way to find out, I'm going to Tara."  
  
A/N: That's all I've got for you so far. Please review!!!!! 


	3. Tara Base

A/N: Have a little mercy on the elf base, I don't know much about them.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, I do not own anything else that you might recognize in this chapter or the last either, except maybe the twins, and John and Kyle Butler, and Amber. Well okay I do own a lot of them, but you get what I'm saying. In other words "don't own em, don't claim too, don't sue me!!!!!"  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Brian stared out the Bentley window, trying to ignore Aidan's gaze. She had been staring at him as if he was crazy ever since they left the manor. He was going to leave her there, but she begged him to let her come until finally he said yes. Now, though, he wished that he had not, she happened to be chewing her gum very loudly and it was distracting.  
  
"Brian?" Aidan's voice broke him out of his train of thought, as usual.  
  
"What?" He said, not bothering to hide his irritation.  
  
"We don't know what this H.Short person looks like, and we certainly don't know where in Tara to look," She said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Well, he or she knows dad well enough to have his e-mail address, so they must know that he's rich. Most likely, since we have the Bentley, they will find us."  
  
"What if they don't?" Asked Aidan, her big blue eyes watching Brian.  
  
Brian didn't answer. He didn't have time to, because suddenly Kyle started speaking to John, his brother and Aidan's bodyguard.  
  
"What do you think that is?" Kyle pointed out the car window at a nearby field, one that used to be empty. Now, though, in the middle of the field stood what looked like a landing pad that you would see in a Star Wars movie.  
  
"Pull over," Brian immediately ordered.  
  
Kyle obeyed without question. As soon as the car came to a stop Brian tossed the door open and jumped out.  
  
"Can one of you hand me the binoculars?" Asked Brian without looking at the others.  
  
The expensive binoculars were immediately placed in his hand. He pulled the caps off and lifted the binoculars to his eyes. The area that had seemed so small from where the Bentley was park seemed suddenly huge. Lights flashed all over the area. There were movements that he could make out, but what was moving he didn't know. What he did know was that this field was empty yesterday, and there was no way that this building could be put on so fast.  
  
~*~  
  
"D'arvit!" cried Captain Trouble Kelp as a blast from a gun shot his way. He quickly ducked and heard Foaly in his ear.  
  
"Those blasts are the least of your problems Kelp," stated Foaly. "The shields on the Tara Base are down. Even the dumbest mud person could spot us now."  
  
"D'arvit," repeated the captain. "What are we going to do? Dealing with Cudgeon is hard enough without dealing with the mud people too."  
  
"I'll try to get the shield back up, but I think that a fuse up there might be broken," answered Foaly as a chomping sound came through the mike.  
  
"Foaly are you eating?!" roared another voice suddenly on the mike. "How can you eat at a time like this?"  
  
"Sorry Commander," replied Foaly, though he did not sound the least bit sorry. "Nervous habit."  
  
"Well break it and tell me were the broken fuse is!" shouted Root.  
  
"Not fuse, Julius, wire," Foaly didn't seem to mind being shouted at. "Go to the lunchroom."  
  
Root obeyed, letting the Julius thing slide.  
  
After nearly being shot several times, Root skidded into the lunchroom.  
  
"Now what?" He asked Foaly, slightly out of breath.  
  
"Head over to the vending machine," replied Foaly, and to Root's surprise there was no sarcasm or chewing. "Push it away from the wall and there should be a little box."  
  
Root obeyed, and did find a little silver box.  
  
"Open it," came Foaly's voice.  
  
Again, Root obeyed and found a whole mess of wires. "Which one?" He demanded.  
  
"The broken one, duh," answered Foaly, calm as ever, but the sarcasm was back.  
  
Root used the tips of his fingers to hunt through the wires. No broken ones.  
  
~*~  
  
Aidan, Brian and the Butlers headed towards the building. No spoke, no one wanted to, they all were trying to figure out what the thing ahead of them was, and why the hell it wasn't there yesterday.  
  
Brian was lost in deep thought when suddenly something flew by his face. Dazed, his eyes shot up and he saw, to his own personal shock, a green creature with wings flying quickly ahead of them and landing near the building, which they were now much closer to.  
  
They all froze.  
  
"Did everyone else see that?" asked Aidan.  
  
No one answered, they did not have to, their expressions spoke for themselves.  
  
"What was it?" asked John.  
  
"I'm not sure, and there is only one way to find out," said Brian and he signaled to Kyle and John.  
  
They both smiled and crept forward, their dart guns ready.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis stepped out of the open car door, a smile on his face. His bank account was considerably larger.  
  
He sauntered confidently into the manor and then the living room. He found his wife and Juliet sitting on the living room couch yelling at the television screen. He went and stood behind them, looking at the screen. He sighed, I should have known, he thought. Wrestling.  
  
"You know, your rotting your brains," he said.  
  
They both jumped.  
  
"Artemis!" started Amber. "We didn't see you come in. Where are the twins?"  
  
A puzzled look crossed Artemis's face, something that doesn't happen often. "What do you mean?"  
  
"The twins," she said slowly. "They said that you told them to meet you in Tara."  
  
"I didn't tell them anything about meeting me anywhere!" he cried.  
  
Ella Butler, Juliet's 15-year-old daughter who had just entered the room, interrupted this conversation.  
  
"Mr.Fowl?" she started. "I thought that I should tell you that you left your computer on."  
  
Everything suddenly fell into place and Artemis quickly ran upstairs to prove his theory correct. He was not disappointed.  
  
Artemis, trubl in hvn. Cdgon has son, tring to get rvnge for fthrs dath. Ned hlp, ples cme to tara.  
  
Flashed on the screen.  
  
Artemis groaned. The twins had gone to Tara.  
  
A/N: Please Review!!!!! 


	4. Blame

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Artemis Fowl, Foaly, Butler, Holly Short, Chix Verbil, Trouble Kelp, blah blah blah... I do own the twins, John, Kyle, Henry and me/Nicole, obviously. No one sue me, I am innocent! *Shifts eyes guiltily*  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Henry loaded his gun calmly on one side of the building. Captain Kelp had sent him, since he was the only sprite besides Chix, to make sure that no more of Cudgeon's men were sneaking up on them. Well, there was no more sneaking going on, so Henry thought he might as well load his gun while he can out of the battle.  
  
Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the nape of his neck. Two mud men the size of mountains were behind him, along with a pretty, human girl and an icy looking human boy. The huge men pulled a needle out from his neck.  
  
Any minute now, he thought, I'll be the next Holly Short..but, I don't feel drowsy.  
  
"Who...." Henry started.  
  
"Shut up," snapped the boy. "We'll do the questioning."  
  
As soon as the mud boy said the word questioning Henry knew what they had injected into him. Truth serum.  
  
"Now," said the boy. "Let's start with name and species....."  
  
~*~  
  
"Foaly!" shouted Root."  
  
"Yes commander?" replied Foaly over the mike casually.  
  
"I don't see any broken wire!"  
  
"But.. Commander.. It has to be there, all the wires that power the system are there," Foaly seemed genuinely stumped. "They couldn't have beat my system. None of Cudgeon's men have that kind of intelligence."  
  
"Well then what happened?" demanded Root.  
  
"Well that's what I'm trying to figure out," replied Foaly. Root could hear buttons clicking. "According to the computer everything is down, but I can't find a source for the problem."  
  
~*~  
  
"... and we are not allowed to enter mud peoples dwellings without their permission," finished Henry drowsily.  
  
"Anything else?" prodded Brian.  
  
Henry thought hard for a moment, and then shook his head. "Nope, I think that's it."  
  
"Dad knew about these people?! And He didn't tell ME?!" roared Aidan from behind Brian.  
  
"Of course he didn't tell you," said Brian, rising up from the sitting position he had been in while speaking with Henry. "Why would he? According to Henry no one has spoken with our father since he was 19."  
  
"So what? Dad forgot about them? Is that what happened? I seriously doubt it," whined Aidan.  
  
"Breath Aidan. If you had kidnapped an elf and stolen gold would you have told your kids?" Pointed out Brian calmly.  
  
Aidan was quiet for a moment. "Maybe," she finally said.  
  
Brian smirked. "Exactly."  
  
"So what now?" Asked Aidan.  
  
Brian smiled.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis and Amber were in the second Bentley within five minutes of reading the e-mail.  
  
"What were they thinking?" Amber said for the 100th time, shaking her head.  
  
Artemis did not reply. The first time she had said that he had been wondering the same thing. Then another thought passed through his mind. If he had read that e-mail on his father's computer, what would he have done?  
  
He almost smiled at the answer. He would have gone to Tara looking for this H.Short person. It almost scared him how much Brian was like him, and to an extent, Aidan was the same way.  
  
"You know this is all your fault?!" snapped Amber suddenly, pulling Artemis out of his thought.  
  
Artemis frowned, "how is this my fault?"  
  
"If you had let me tell them about The People like I wanted to this wouldn't have happened cause they would have known who Holly was!"  
  
"When they were little the words 'keep this a secret' meant 'tell everyone you know!'" replied Artemis quickly. "Plus, even if we waited till recently to tell them everyone still would have known! Aidan has a big mouth."  
  
Amber scoffed then looked out the window.  
  
"Pull over up here Butler, you remember where the base is," called out Artemis as the Fairy Base got closer.  
  
Butler obeyed without a word. As soon as the car had stopped, Amber and Artemis jumped out, heading for the clearly visible base.  
  
"Haven and the LEP must be in real trouble if their shields are down," commented Amber.  
  
"What is Foaly doing?" Artemis frowned at the building. Something very bad was happening.  
  
A/N: Please Review! 


	5. How?

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Artemis Fowl, The Carmody Academy, Foaly, Butler, Holly Short, Chix Verbil, Trouble Kelp, blah blah blah. I do own the twins, John, Kyle, Henry Creen, Amber, Brice Cudgeon, and Carmon, obviously. No one sue me, I am innocent! *Shifts eyes guiltily*  
  
Sry, this chapter is short!!!!!!  
  
BTW: To Mage Kitty and Becca- Holly will be in the next chapter for sure!  
  
Chapter 5  
  
"Would you hurry up you stupid centaur?!" roared Root, his face purpling.  
  
"These things take time Julius," answered Foaly calmly.  
  
"Well, while you waiting for the sun to burn out there is a battle going on that needs me," Root started. "Alert me when you know what the hell happened! And don't call me Julius!"  
  
"Sure thing commander," said Foaly, the carrot chomping sound was back. "Oh, and by the way, the sun won't burn out for another millennium, and I am almost positive that I will be dead by then. Unless, of course, my immortality medicine works........"  
  
"Foaly! Concentrate!" yelled Root.  
  
"Yes commander."  
  
Root sighed. This was bad.  
  
~*~  
  
Carmon, a sprite now working for Cudgeon's son Brice, flew around shooting every LEP Officer he saw.  
  
Carmon glanced over and saw Captain Kelp running across the ground toward one of Carmon's comrades. Carmon sped up his flying in order to keep up with the captain, aimed, and.  
  
Ran straight into a human girl.  
  
"Hey! Watch it!" cried Aidan as she hit the ground. "Watch where your going you midget!" She kicked him in the stomach, hard.  
  
Carmon kneeled over with his hands on his stomach. He groaned and opened his eyes a little to see what was going on.  
  
His eyes quickly widened at what he saw. A human girl, obviously the one he hit, was being helped off the floor by a man the size of a small troll. What was even more horrifying to Carmon was that there was two men this size! The other human was standing by a boy with jet-black hair and cold blue eyes. Right beside the boy sat a sprite that Carmon knew far too well, Henry Creen.  
  
"Hi Carmon!" called Henry before he leaned towards the human boy. "That's Carmon, he's a convict that I've caught five times." Henry held up five fingers in an excited way.  
  
"You must be drunk," said Carmon. "Did you let these mud people into he base?"  
  
"No," the mudboy stated. "We got in here by ourselves, we saw your base from the road."  
  
"You saw. But that's impossible!" Carmon, a usually intelligent sprite, cried.  
  
"Obviously it's not."  
  
"But. the shield!"  
  
"The shield must be down," the boy's hand raised into the air as if he was waving to someone. "Unfortunately, we can not have any little elves on this base knowing that we are here, so you are going to have to take a little nap."  
  
Suddenly Carmon felt a sharp pain in his neck. The last thing he saw before he passed out was the human boy's cold, uncaring blue eyes. 


	6. Human Dart

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Artemis Fowl, The Carmody Academy, Foaly, Butler, Holly Short, Chix Verbil, Trouble Kelp, blah blah blah. I do own the twins, John, Kyle, Henry Creen, Amber, Brice Cudgeon, and Carmon, obviously. No one sue me, I am innocent! *Shifts eyes guiltily*  
  
BTW: Thank you everyone who has reviewed! This is my first fanfic and you have really boosted my confidence.  
  
To Becca and Mage Kitty: You asked for Holly and I give you Holly!  
  
A/N: Holly has been promoted to Major sometime within the past 20 years, so no one post a review saying that she's a captain, cause I know that she was but now she's a major.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
If Briar Cudgeon has a son, thought Artemis, then why hasn't he appeared before now? Something doesn't fit.  
  
He, Butler and Amber were now right outside of the base, and there weren't even any guards watching the outside.  
  
"What are they doing?" wondered Amber aloud. "Aren't they afraid that some humans are going to see the base and come look? Why don't they have any guards out?"  
  
"They are probably more worried about the battle that must be going on inside," commented Artemis.  
  
"Well, if any more humans see this base they are going to have a bigger problem then Briar Cudgeon's son," replied Amber.  
  
Artemis nodded, but said nothing. Should they just enter? If they did, they would run the risk of being shot, but he was positive that Aidan and Brian were in there. They couldn't just stand outside while the twins were wreaking havoc.  
  
Without a word, Artemis walked forward, Amber and Butler behind him.  
  
~*~  
  
"Um, Commander Root?" started Foaly almost shyly after Root said that he was going back to the battle.  
  
"What is it Foaly? Is it about the shield?" asked Root, stopping in the middle of the lunchroom.  
  
"No commander, not really. You see, one of our sprites, Henry was doing a fly over to see if and of Cudgeon's men were sneaking up on us."  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"So, when he was loading his gun to return to battle he was shot with a human dart. Two, to be precise, one in the neck and one broke the camera on his helmet."  
  
"D'arvit," mumbled Root. "Do we know who it was?"  
  
"Not for a fact but I'll give you one guess who in probably was."  
  
Root ground his teeth.  
  
~*~  
  
Major Holly Short of LEP ran through a hallway of the Tara Base. This was bad. Brice Cudgeon would stop at nothing to get revenge for his father, and he had far more supporters fighting on his side underground and aboveground then the LEP had trained officers. The battle below ground needed as many officers as it could get, and Holly hated to leave, but she had to come above ground to wait for Artemis. Whether he was waiting for her outside the Tara Base or in it, she did not know. That would make things more difficult, now she would have to hunt for him. She supposed that it was her own fault though; she should have been more specific in the e-mail.  
  
She kicked open the door to the lunchroom. Bad move for her. She kicked it open right when another elf was about to open it to leave.  
  
Thump. Commander Root fell heavily to the floor.  
  
"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry Commander!" cried Holly as she helped him off the floor. "I was looking for Artemis."  
  
"Yeah, well if you find him tell him he's under arrest," Root said, leaning against the wall after he had risen.  
  
"For what?!" This statement took Holly aback.  
  
"For shooting one of our few sprites with a dart. Who knows what else he will do or has already done in our time of crisis."  
  
"Commander, I don't believe that Artemis would do this. You know he hasn't done anything against us in many, many years," defended Holly. "He's almost been our friend."  
  
"Major Short!" Started Root sharply. "Henry was shot by a human dart, what other human would carry darts with him?"  
  
Holly was about to reply, but then she realized that she had no response to that.  
  
"Exactly. When you find him, arrest him and whoever is with him. Lock them in a secure room, and then join the battle. We need all the LEP that we can get." With that, Commander Root left.  
  
Holly stood there for several moments. Why would Artemis do it?  
  
A/N: Hey guys! Thanx for reading, please review! 


	7. Innocent

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Artemis Fowl, The Carmody Academy, Foaly, Butler, Holly Short, Chix Verbil, Trouble Kelp, blah blah blah. I do own the twins, John, Kyle, Henry Creen, Amber, Brice Cudgeon, and Carmon, obviously. No one sue me, I am innocent! *Shifts eyes guiltily*  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Kyle dropped Carmon's little body into a storage room. He almost felt guilty about hurting these little creatures, and he wondered if his cousin had felt the same way when they kidnapped this Holly Short person. He was also wondering what was going on in Brian head, what they planned to do to these people.  
  
John came up behind him, carrying the sprite Henry by his feet. He quickly threw him into the storage room then closed the door.  
  
"Master Brian said that we do not need Henry anymore, and to lock him up with Carmon," said John as he had Kyle walked back to the twins.  
  
Kyle simply nodded and followed John.  
  
"Remarkable," they heard Brian mumble when they were near. He was running his fingers across some strange writing on the wall. "Their lettering is very similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics." Brian pulled his laptop out of his backpack, which he had brought in with him.  
  
"And at first I was impressed that dad translated this," started Aidan, " but now I see that it wasn't that difficult."  
  
Kyle and John looked from the writing to each other, puzzled. It looked difficult to them, but, then again, the twins were fowls.  
  
~*~  
  
"We have to find Holly," said Artemis as he, Butler and Amber entered the base. "She can help us find the twins."  
  
"If anyone has even seen the twins," cut in Amber. "You know how smart they are, and they have Kyle and John with them. Anyone who saw them is probably unconscious right now."  
  
"I know Amber, but do you have a better idea about where to start?"  
  
Amber bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head. "But how are we going to find her?"  
  
"You don't have to," a female voice came from behind them.  
  
"Holly!" started Artemis. "I'm glad you found us, see."  
  
"I'm sorry, but you are all under arrest," to Artemis's surprise she actually did look sorry.  
  
"Under arrest? But you told us to come!" cried Artemis as several recon officers that were with Holly came up to them.  
  
"Yeah, to help us. Not to cause more problems then we already have," then Holly looked at Butler. "It would be easier if you all came easy."  
  
"Holly, we just got here, we didn't do anything!"  
  
"Artemis, don't make this difficult, just come. Please," Holly joined the other recon officers that were beside them with handcuffs.  
  
Artemis sighed then nodded at Butler. The nod was all that Butler need and he immediately kicked out, hitting two of the LEPrecon officers, knocking them unconscious. They other two officers (including Holly) pulled out there guns, which were immediately grabbed and crushed by Butler. The other officer ran, but Holly just glared at Artemis before walking off.  
  
"Apparently, she won't be of any help in finding the twins," stated Artemis before turning in the opposite direction and walking forward.  
  
~*~  
  
"Commander Root," said Holly and she ducked behind the overturned table with him.  
  
"Did you get him Short?" asked Root before turning around and shooting over the table.  
  
"Not exactly. How are things out here?"  
  
"They could be worse, and what do you mean not exactly?" Root stopped shooting and looked at her.  
  
"I mean he had the human mountain with him and he kicked my squads asses," answered Holly, her cheeks slightly pink.  
  
"And you didn't anticipate this? You know that Butler goes everyone with him!" roared Root, his face turning a deep shade of purple.  
  
"I'm sorry commander, I thought that he would come easy."  
  
"Come easy? Are we talking about the same Fowl?"  
  
Holly face turned almost red enough to rival Root's. Almost.  
  
"We could still get him before he causes more damage," said Holly through gritted teeth.  
  
"You better," replied Root before he returned to shooting which told Holly that the conversation was over.  
  
She was embarrassed about how he went off on her, but it was okay. She had a plan.  
  
A/N: All I got so far, please review!!!!!! 


	8. Where are they?

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Artemis Fowl, The Carmody Academy, Foaly, Butler, Holly Short, Chix Verbil, Trouble Kelp, blah blah blah. I do own the twins, John, Kyle, Henry Creen, Amber, Brice Cudgeon, and Carmon, obviously. No one sue me, I am innocent! *Shifts eyes guiltily*  
  
A/N: Becca, I'm using your name in my story. I'm not using it to insult you or anything, I just think that it is a good name for this character.  
  
A/N: Sry, this chapter is really short. See I haven't updated in a while so I wanted to do it soon. I'll try to make ch.9 longer.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
"This isn't going to work Short," said the commander after Holly told him her plan.  
  
"Yes it will," she replied with an agitated sigh, "the only think stopping us from stopping Fowl is Butler."  
  
"But the plan is too risky," Root said hesitantly.  
  
Holly was right, Butler was the only thing stopping them from getting Artemis, but many LEP Officers could get hurt with this plan.  
  
Holly smiled sadly and said, "But having Artemis loose in the base could be even worse."  
  
Root sighed. "I'm giving you one a shot Short, just one, don't you dare blow it."  
  
The Major smiled. "I won't commander, you can count on that."  
  
Just when she was about to leave Root called after her.  
  
"Oh, and Holly," he started gently. "Be careful."  
  
~*~  
  
"We have to find the twins and get out of here before the LEP takes more drastic measures to protect their base," commented Artemis as he walked through the base. "Though were they would be I have no idea."  
  
"They might not even be here," pointed out Amber as she opened a door and glanced inside. "They could just be trying to make us look stupid."  
  
"Well if that's their goal they are doing an excellent job of it," replied Artemis grimly.  
  
Butler, who was in front of them, suddenly stopped.  
  
"What is it?" asked Amber. She and Artemis stopped walking also.  
  
"I heard Aidan's voice, around that corner," Butler pointed and then walked quickly towards the corner, Amber and Artemis on his heels.  
  
~*~  
  
Holly checked to make sure that her gun was tightly hooked to her belt before she went through with her plan. If it backfired she wouldn't want to be without her gun.  
  
Inhale, exhale, inhale. she silently repeated to herself.  
  
She felt a little ashamed for being so nervous, but after all Butler did take out an entire retrieval squad. She kind of had a right to be nervous.  
  
"You ready Major?" asked Becca.  
  
Holly smiled at her. Becca was a young recruit just out of training, the second female LEPrecon officer, also one of Holly's most trusted officers.  
  
"Yeah Bec," she said. "I'm ready."  
  
A/N: Please review!!!!!! 


	9. Holly's Plan

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Artemis Fowl, The Carmody Academy, Foaly, Butler, Holly Short, Chix Verbil, Trouble Kelp, blah blah blah. I do own the twins, John, Kyle, Henry Creen, Amber, Brice Cudgeon, and Carmon, obviously. No one sue me, I am innocent! *Shifts eyes guiltily*  
  
A/N: Thanx for the great reviews everyone! Becca, I'm glad that you were not mad at me about the name thing and I am honored that you put me on your favorites list.  
  
A/N: I just realized a big mistake that I made. I said that it was evening when Brian read the e-mail, but it was broad daylight when he went to Tara. Let's just pretend like I said that he waited a day, I don't feel like changing it.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"I told you that it would be easy," said Brian as he closed his laptop. "Really it was pointless though. All that was written on the wall was what the LEP officers that guard the base should do in case of an emergency."  
  
"Then can we go now?" Asked Aidan loudly as she ran a finger through her raven hair. "I'm bored."  
  
Brian rolled his eyes as he stood up. "We need to." His voice trailed off as a large man turned a corner and stood in front of them.  
  
Amber and Artemis were right behind him.  
  
"Awwww, your in trouble," chanted Aidan to Brian.  
  
"So are you," snapped Amber.  
  
"Me?!" Cried Aidan. "Why am I in trouble?! He made me come!"  
  
"I did not!" replied Brian suddenly. "I didn't even want you to come!"  
  
"Stop! Both of you," cut in Artemis, seeing Aidan about to reply. "What could the two have been thinking? I was so afraid that something had happened to you."  
  
"Great acting dad," said Brian coldly, "I almost believed you."  
  
For once Artemis didn't know how to reply.  
  
~*~  
  
Becca's knees shook as she walked through the hallways, now dark due to the fact that the electricity has also gone out.  
  
"It will be okay Becca," assured Holly. "Butler did take out a retrieval squad, but I don't think Artemis would have him actually hurt us."  
  
"At least not too badly," came the ever reassuring voice of Foaly from their earpieces.  
  
"Foaly!" Snapped Holly.  
  
"It's okay Major Short, I can do this," said Becca with a weak smile.  
  
Holly smiled back, though she was worried. Artemis really wouldn't hurt them, would he? If this plan didn't work, would Artemis be mad enough to actually hurt them?  
  
I shouldn't have brought Becca, Holly silently thought, she could get seriously hurt. Getting hurt is part of the job though, isn't it?  
  
Holly swallowed. It was too late for doubts.  
  
~*~  
  
"What do you mean by that Brian?" Artemis was finally able to ask.  
  
"You know perfectly well what I meant father," replied Brian.  
  
Artemis didn't reply, because he did know.  
  
Suddenly Butler cut in. "Artemis." But he didn't have time to finish.  
  
Butler lay on the floor unconscious.  
  
Immediately Kyle and John pushed Brian and Aidan into a nearby room, closing the door.  
  
Artemis felt a sharp jab in-between his shoulder and neck.  
  
He almost smiled. The LEP seemed to have taken a leaf out of his own book.  
  
A/N: For all of you who are slow on their feet, the LEP used darts. Please Review!!!! 


	10. Aidan and Brian

Disclaimers are so freaking annoying! You know the drill, I'm not Eoin Colfer and I did not create Artemis Fowl.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
"Some how we managed to capture two more people then expected," said Holly as she took Commander Root to where the unconscious humans were. "By their size we assume that they are related to Butler."  
  
"That's just what we need," said Root shaking his head. "More bear sized humans."  
  
"What I was wondering is why are they here? Did Artemis honestly doubt that Butler could do whatever they had planned alone?" Holly asked uncertainly.  
  
"Who cares Major?" snapped Root as he pulled out a half chewed fungus cigar. "Just have Becca keep an eye on them."  
  
Holly was taken aback. "But sir, don't you think that it would be better if I.."  
  
"No, Holly, I don't," interrupted Root. "We need you in the field. Becca's a rookie but she can handle babysitting duty."  
  
With that Commander Root departed, though he didn't know that Holly was trying to decide on how much trouble she would get in if she hit him.  
  
~*~  
  
"Aidan!" snapped Brian, "get off of my foot!"  
  
"Sorry, but I'm all tangled up in some sort of net and I can't move!" replied Aidan.  
  
"Well untangle yourself and get off my foot!"  
  
"What do you think I'm trying to do?"  
  
After a long struggle and lots of yelling Aidan and Brian untangled themselves and stepped out of the room.  
  
"Where did everyone go?" Asked Aidan.  
  
Brian rolled his eyes. "Did you not hear Butler try to warn our so called father? Why do you think that our bodyguards tossed us into that room?"  
  
Aidan gasped. "They've been captured?"  
  
"Very good Aidan," said Brian mockingly. "Though why they took dad is beyond me, by that e-mail you would think that he and these faeries were friends."  
  
"Maybe they were trying to trick him into coming here!"  
  
For the second time Brian rolled his eyes. "Aidan, do you honestly think that if dad's enemies sent him an e-mail asking for help he would go help them? If these people actually thought that our father would then they must be completely moronic."  
  
A/N: Is moronic a word?  
  
"Maybe they are stupid and thought that he would come help them, even  
though  
we know that he wouldn't. Then when you read the e-mail and went to  
find them dad  
found that we went looking for them and followed us."  
  
Brian almost laughed. "Do you honestly think that dad was here  
looking for us?  
Or that he even noticed that we were gone till he saw us here?"  
  
"I think that he would have at least noticed." Aidan wasn't even looking at Brian  
anymore, she seemed to have found a fascination with her shoes."  
  
"I'm sorry Aidan, but dad doesn't care about us."  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis broke out of his unconscious state and immediately wished he  
hadn't. He  
had a headache that made him feel like he had been drinking for 5 days  
straight and there  
were ropes cutting into his chest.  
  
He groaned and he heard a young girl scream.  
  
"Aidan?" he was able to muffle out.  
  
"No, ummm, Mr.Fowl," it wasn't Aidan, Artemis didn't recognize the  
voice.  
"My name's Becca."  
  
Artemis opened his eyes, though it took them several minutes to focus.  
  
A young elf with dark brown, curly hair and green eyes sat in front of  
him. She  
was staring as if he was the coolest thing she had ever seen.  
  
He glance to his side and saw Amber and the three Butlers tied to  
chairs like  
himself, though they were still unconscious.  
  
"Where am I?" He asked.  
  
"Just some room in the Tara Base."  
  
"Where's Aidan and Brian?"  
  
The girl looked puzzled. "Aidan and Brian?"  
  
"Yes, my kids, where are they?"  
  
The young elf went pale.  
  
A/N: All I got so far, please review!!!! 


	11. Looking

Disclaimers are so freaking annoying! You know the drill, I'm not Eoin Colfer and I did not create Artemis Fowl.  
  
A/N: I know I've gone a little ways away from the synopsis, but I could change it. Sry, this chapter is really short, but I wanted to update.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
"Kid?!" Cried the Commander when Holly told him. "He has a kid?!"  
  
"Kids, plural. There's two," corrected Holly. "Becca called me about five minutes ago and told me."  
  
"T. two?" Commander Root's face turned the darkest hue of purple that Holly had ever seen. "There's TWO Fowls loose in the base?! This is bad."  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the King of Obvious," came Foaly's voice from Holly and Root's earpieces.  
  
"We have a disaster here Foaly!" Roared Root into the microphone. "Not only do we have Artemis's children loose in the base but we have Briar Cudgeon's son to deal with too!"  
  
"Maybe we should stop people from having children," came a voice from the doorway.  
  
"Trouble!" said Holly happily. "I'm glad to see you! We might need your help in finding the Fowl minis."  
  
The smile that he held looked strange on his face. His was covered in dirt and grit from the battle. He had dried blood on his face, which made Holly cringe.  
  
"I have good news," he said, his smile growing wider. "We won the battle aboveground, so we can all go back underground."  
  
Holly smiled back. "That is good news, but, the Fowl kids.... we can't leave them up here to do who knows what do our equipment."  
  
"Then we'll have to find them," replied Trouble, sounding confident as ever. "With Holly and I on the job it should be quick work."  
  
"It had better be," said Root, pointing a finger.  
  
For some reason Holly didn't think so. 


	12. Capture

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl because I am not Eoin Colfer. HA! Now none of you can sue me! *Sticks tongue out*  
  
Chapter 12  
  
"We need to find the main computer room on this base," Brian informed Aidan as they walked through the halls.  
  
"Why?" Aidan asked as she tripped over a chair that was lying on the ground. "My god this place is a mess."  
  
"What did you expect?" asked Brian. "There is a war going on."  
  
Though Aidan didn't notice Brian has purposely avoided the question. Brian didn't want to tell her, because Aidan really did have a big mouth.  
  
A light suddenly caught Aidan's eyes. She looked in the direction of the light; it seemed to be coming from a room with an open door.  
  
She walked towards it, and found a huge computer database full of shining computers and machines.  
  
~*~  
  
"Let's see," said Foaly in Holly's earpiece. "I'm an annoying little Fowl child, were would I be..."  
  
Holly smiled. Foaly could make jokes at almost the worst times.  
  
Holly was about to reply when Trouble tapped on her shoulder. "Look," he said, pointing.  
  
Holly followed the direction of his finger and smiled. In the computer database (Foaly's favorite room in the few times that he comes aboveground) sat a young human girl, light shimmering off her black hair.  
  
"I think we found one of the troublemakers," whispered Holly into her microphone.  
  
~*~  
  
Aidan kneeled by the largest computer. "Whoa," was all that she was able to get out.  
  
"Hey Br-" suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth and another set locked her hands behind her back. As an immediate reflex, she kicked out, hitting what she assumed to be a faerie shoulder. She bit down hard on the hand that was over her mouth, hearing a male curse.  
  
"Holly! She bit me! What is wrong with her?! Artemis never would have bit any of us!"  
  
As soon as the hand was gone from Aidan's mouth she screamed as loud as she could possibly scream, causing another hand (this one softer) to cover her mouth again. This happened right before a sharp pain went through her forearm.  
  
~*~  
  
Brian leaned against a wall in a hallway near the computer database, but not so near that they LEP would be able to find him.  
  
He had heard Aidan scream, but it did not worry him and he did not come to her aid. These LEP people seemed to righteous to actually hurt her anyway. Besides, he had plans to fulfill.  
  
He flashed his vampire smile that was so much like his father's. 


	13. Mulch Diggums

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl because I am not Eoin Colfer. HA! Now none of you can sue me! *Sticks tongue out*  
  
A/N: I want everyone who reads my fics to go read Ophelia if insane's fics too, she helped me a lot.  
  
RED MOON KREE HAS ALLOWED ME TO USE HER GROWTH POTION, SO NO ELVES IN MY STORY ARE SHORT EXCEPT FOR MULCH DIGGUMS, CAUSE I LIKE HIM SHORT. ; - )  
  
A/N: THIS IS IMPORTANT. IT HAS BEEN A HALF HOUR SINCE AIDAN WAS CAPTURED.  
  
Chapter 13  
  
"Where is your brother?" Root demanded, staring at the blue-eyed, black- haired girl in front of him.  
  
The girl was rubbing her temples, but than she stopped and looked at him. "What brother?" She asked innocently.  
  
Root face turned a dark hue of purple. "THE BROTHER THAT YOU CAME HERE WITH!"  
  
"I don't have a brother," the girl replied calmly. "You must be mistaken."  
  
If Holly was ever to pick a time when she thought that Root's heart was going to explode, it would be now.  
  
"I AM NOT MISTAKEN!" roared Root. "YOU CAME HERE WITH A MUD BOY, AND I WANT TO KNOW WHERE HE IS!"  
  
"You really need to watch your temper," said Aidan, then she shook her finger at him with a frown, "remember your blood pressure."  
  
At this point Holly had to jump in front of the commander to keep him from killing Aidan.  
  
~*~  
  
Brian walked confidently into the computer room. He immediately sat at the largest computer and began accessing the files.  
  
Right when he was about to try his luck at the passwords his chair shook and tipped completely unto it's side.  
  
"What the...." In the place where his chair had been, there was a small bearded man who had just jumped out of the ground with his arms waving in the air triumphantly.  
  
"I'm free! I'm free!" He chanted, then he looked around the room and his arms fell to his sides. "I'm free in LEP headquarters, great. I am getting to old for this."  
  
Brian almost groaned. Great, he thought, without Kyle I have to do my own muscle work.  
  
Brian looked around and saw a plastic bag lying on the ground. He assumed that the custodian had been changing the garbage when the attack started and immediately ran for cover.  
  
He silently crawled towards the bag while the strange creature debated with himself on whether to wreak havoc in the LEP headquarters or just leave.  
  
Brian turned around quickly and pulled the little creature into the bag.  
  
"Hey!" cried the creature. "Let me go! Let me go! I know my rights!"  
  
Brian held the bag shut as he jerked his head around the room looking for rope.  
  
~*~  
  
Root cursed in gnomish as he pushed Aidan to where the Fowls and the Butlers were being held, with Holly on their heels.  
  
"Aidan!" cried Artemis when they entered. "Where's Brian?"  
  
Again Root's face darkened.  
  
"We've been trying to get her to tell us that, but she won't," explained Holly as Root again started swearing.  
  
"Aidan, tell them where Brian is," Artemis ordered.  
  
Aidan glared at Artemis and said, "I don't have a brother."  
  
Artemis sighed, "look Aidan, we all know that you have a brother, so just tell us where he is."  
  
"Actually dad, you don't know that I have a brother," said Aidan in a matter-of-factly. "See when we were born, you weren't there. For all you know Brian is of no relation to us."  
  
"Aidan," this time is was Amber who spoke. "Artemis may not have been there, but see I was. I know that you have a brother."  
  
Aidan turned to Amber with a puzzled look on her face. "Do I know you?"  
  
Artemis let out an exasperated sigh.  
  
~*~  
  
Mulch Diggums tumbled out of the plastic bag, cord tied around his wrists and ankles.  
  
"You evil little mud boy!" cried Mulch as he looked at Brian. "Artemis! I thought that you and I were friends!"  
  
"I don't know you, how could we be friends?" Brian's eyes were puzzled. "And how do you know my first name?"  
  
"You do too know me! You helped me with my dwarf gas!"  
  
Brian's confusion turned to being disgusted. "Your what?!"  
  
"You know, when we..." then a look of understanding crossed Mulch's round face. "You can't be Artemis, he would be an adult by now."  
  
Brian smiled. "You thought that I was my father?"  
  
"Your father... d'arvit," said Mulch. "When the greatest enemy of the LEP starts reproducing, it means the end of us all."  
  
Brian smiled even wider. He liked this creature. 


	14. Brice Cudgeon

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl because I am not Eoin Colfer. HA! Now none of you can sue me! *Sticks tongue out*  
  
A/N: Whether you spell it fairy or faerie, it works. Kind of like color and colour, or magic and magick.  
  
To Oompa-Loompa: I am in the process of writing an Artemis/Amber fic, it's called Talkan Scepter, you can go check it out! BTW: Awesome name.  
  
Chapter 14  
  
"That is it!" cried Root. "We are done being nice! Let's just put the mesmer on her and get this over with."  
  
Holly nodded and walked over to Aidan, who was now tied to a chair.  
  
"What's the mesmer?" asked Aidan uncertainly as Holly walked up to her.  
  
Holly shrugged, "just some faerie magic. It doesn't hurt, at least, I don't think it does."  
  
"You can do whatever you want to me, but I'll never talk," Aidan put on the kind of voice that you would hear in an action movie.  
  
Holly just smiled and continued walking towards her.  
  
"Okay! Okay!" Cried Aidan, almost falling out of her chair as she tried to scoot back. "He said something about finding the main computer database."  
  
Holly, Root and Becca smiled. Piece of cake.  
  
~*~  
  
Brian walked through the hallways, Mulch at his side.  
  
"So kid, what you are saying is all I have to do, is find out where your sister and the Butlers are, then meet you in the computer room," Mulch said suspiciously.  
  
"That's all," replied Brian evenly. "Then your done."  
  
"And your going to give me money for this?"  
  
Brian nodded.  
  
"Then I'll do it," Mulch put his hand out for Brian to shake, but he didn't get the chance too.  
  
Just then a hand reached out of a dark room, covering Brian's mouth and pulling him in. Before a second passed a bag had been thrown over Mulch and he too was dragged into the dark room. They were both tied to chairs, after, of course, Mulch had been taken out of the bag.  
  
"Well, so we finally meet," the voice that spoke belonged to a man with thick brown hair and brown eyes the same color. An evil grin was painted on his face.  
  
"Who are you?" Brian demanded, his face expressionless.  
  
"My name is Brice Cudgeon, and I think that you are just the mudboy that I've been looking for." 


	15. Shake on it

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl because I am not Eoin Colfer. HA! Now none of you can sue me! *Sticks tongue out*  
  
Chapter 15  
  
"He's not here," concluded Trouble as he and Holly looked into and under every hiding place possible. "Two reasons; he either was already here or hasn't found it yet. Either way we have a problem. Do we wait here for him or hunt through the base?"  
  
"We could split up," replied Holly. "You could stay here and I could go through the base."  
  
Trouble frowned. "Why do I have to stay here?"  
  
"Because I've dealt with the Fowls before."  
  
"Not this one."  
  
Holly smiled. "I seriously doubt that he could be any worse than Artemis."  
  
"Technically he is Artemis," a voice came from the doorway.  
  
Grub was standing there, to jars in his hands. "Foaly told me to bring these to you," he explained. "They have the iris cams in them, he wants you to put them on."  
  
Holly and Trouble exchanged glances, smiling.  
  
~*~  
  
"What do you say kid?" Brice said in his cool, smooth voice, his hand outstretched for Brian's.  
  
"Brian!" interrupted Mulch. "I know that his offer sounds tempting but this is not someone that you want to get mixed up with....."  
  
Brice waved his hand and suddenly Mulch had a gag in his mouth. "I think that Brian can make his own choices."  
  
Brice extended his hand again out to Brian. Brian stared uneasily at it, then he put his own hand out and they shook.  
  
~*~  
  
"Why is he doing this?" Artemis asked Amber, running a hand through his raven hair. "What did we do that made him so angry....."  
  
"When you kidnapped Holly, did you do it because you were angry at something?" replied Amber, touching his arm.  
  
Artemis shook his head.  
  
"So what makes you think that Brian is mad at something.... Or someone?" Amber asked, though she knew as well as he did what Artemis was going to say.  
  
"I haven't been there."  
  
"You're busy," Amber said gently.  
  
"So was my father."  
  
Amber shook her head. "There's a difference."  
  
"What is it then?" Artemis looked up from the ground at her.  
  
"You do more than he did, and if you recall he wasn't there much with the little that he did do. It wasn't till he got back from Russia that he actually spent time with you, and that was only because the doctor's were making him take it easy."  
  
"So what your saying," Artemis said with a bemused smile. "Is that bad fathers run in my family?"  
  
Amber smiled back. "I was simply stating that if your father wasn't there, then unconsciously you don't think that you should be there for your son. You don't think that you need to be."  
  
"You sound like a psychiatrist."  
  
"Don't say that," she snapped. "Bad, bad memories."  
  
He smiled and kissed her.  
  
~*~  
  
"Just stay in the closet," Trouble was saying to Grub. "Just stay in there and if anyone comes radio to us."  
  
"And you'll come right away right?" said Grub in a timid voice. "Cause if you don't I'll tell momma."  
  
Trouble smiled. "I'll come right back, I promise."  
  
Grub nodded and went into the closet.  
  
"I hope that we find him," said Holly as she and trouble entered the hallway. 


	16. Find Him

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl because I am not Eoin Colfer. HA! Now none of you can sue me! *Sticks tongue out*  
  
Chapter 15  
  
"He's not here," concluded Trouble as he and Holly looked into and under every hiding place possible. "Two reasons; he either was already here or hasn't found it yet. Either way we have a problem. Do we wait here for him or hunt through the base?"  
  
"We could split up," replied Holly. "You could stay here and I could go through the base."  
  
Trouble frowned. "Why do I have to stay here?"  
  
"Because I've dealt with the Fowls before."  
  
"Not this one."  
  
Holly smiled. "I seriously doubt that he could be any worse than Artemis."  
  
"Technically he is Artemis," a voice came from the doorway.  
  
Grub was standing there, to jars in his hands. "Foaly told me to bring these to you," he explained. "They have the iris cams in them, he wants you to put them on."  
  
Holly and Trouble exchanged glances, smiling.  
  
~*~  
  
"What do you say kid?" Brice said in his cool, smooth voice, his hand outstretched for Brian's.  
  
"Brian!" interrupted Mulch. "I know that his offer sounds tempting but this is not someone that you want to get mixed up with....."  
  
Brice waved his hand and suddenly Mulch had a gag in his mouth. "I think that Brian can make his own choices."  
  
Brice extended his hand again out to Brian. Brian stared uneasily at it, then he put his own hand out and they shook.  
  
~*~  
  
"Why is he doing this?" Artemis asked Amber, running a hand through his raven hair. "What did we do that made him so angry....."  
  
"When you kidnapped Holly, did you do it because you were angry at something?" replied Amber, touching his arm.  
  
Artemis shook his head.  
  
"So what makes you think that Brian is mad at something.... Or someone?" Amber asked, though she knew as well as he did what Artemis was going to say.  
  
"I haven't been there."  
  
"You're busy," Amber said gently.  
  
"So was my father."  
  
Amber shook her head. "There's a difference."  
  
"What is it then?" Artemis looked up from the ground at her.  
  
"You do more than he did, and if you recall he wasn't there much with the little that he did do. It wasn't till he got back from Russia that he actually spent time with you, and that was only because the doctor's were making him take it easy."  
  
"So what your saying," Artemis said with a bemused smile. "Is that bad fathers run in my family?"  
  
Amber smiled back. "I was simply stating that if your father wasn't there, then unconsciously you don't think that you should be there for your son. You don't think that you need to be."  
  
"You sound like a psychiatrist."  
  
"Don't say that," she snapped. "Bad, bad memories."  
  
He smiled and kissed her.  
  
~*~  
  
"Just stay in the closet," Trouble was saying to Grub. "Just stay in there and if anyone comes radio to us."  
  
"And you'll come right away right?" said Grub in a timid voice. "Cause if you don't I'll tell momma."  
  
Trouble smiled. "I'll come right back, I promise."  
  
Grub nodded and went into the closet.  
  
"I hope that we find him," said Holly as she and trouble entered the hallway. 


	17. Henry and Carmon

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl because I am not Eoin Colfer. HA! Now none of you can sue me! *Sticks tongue out*  
  
A/N: This chapter is short and kind of pointless, but I wanted to update....  
  
Chapter 16  
  
Holly looked out a window. Nighttime, at least they know that the odds that any prying humans would come to the base have lessened.  
  
"Any sign of him?" asked Trouble as he exited out of a room.  
  
Holly shook her head. "You?"  
  
"No, but why I even checked the janitor's closet I do not know," said Trouble. "He probably thinks that he's too good to even hide in there."  
  
Holly smiled.  
  
~*~  
  
"Wait! WAIT!" Cried Mulch. "You can't just leave me here!"  
  
Brice's men were hanging Mulch in his bag from the ceiling.  
  
"Watch me," said Brice. "Gag him."  
  
Mulch's mouth was taped shut, his bag tied tightly to the ceiling.  
  
"Come on kid," said Brice, motioning to Brian.  
  
"We are seriously going to leave him here?" Brian asked, his eyes sympathetic for a moment.  
  
"If we let him go he'll go find the LEP and tell them," Brice explained.  
  
Brian silently followed Brice out the door.  
  
~*~  
  
"Can we go look for Brian?" Amber asked Becca. "You know now that we are on your side."  
  
"I don't know," said Becca uneasily. "I don't want to get into trouble."  
  
"Than ask Commander Root first," Amber said, her eyes pleading. "I really think that it would be more likely for us to find him. He's our son."  
  
Becca nodded and took the com to call Root.  
  
~*~  
  
"Did you hear that?" Holly asked as she and Trouble stepped out of another empty room.  
  
"Yes," he replied, looking around. "It sounded like voices."  
  
They ran down the hallway towards the voices when suddenly their arms were grabbed and bound behind their backs and gags were shoved into their mouths.  
  
Holly opened her eyes and saw two people in front of her. One was human and the other was elf. She knew the elf right away as Brice Cudgeon. For a split second, she thought that the human boy was Artemis. The Artemis that had kidnapped her all those years ago and it took her a moment to realize that this was his son, Brian.  
  
~*~  
  
"I'm glad that the commander is letting us go look for Brian," Amber commented as she and Artemis walked out of their makeshift dungeon.  
  
"What makes you think that we can find him?" Artemis asked her.  
  
Amber shrugged. "What makes you think that we can't?"  
  
A/N: I'll try to make the next chappie longer!!! Please review!!!!! 


	18. Big Bang

Disclaimer: The only thing I own in this story is a few characters, everything and everyone belongs to other people.  
  
To Ophelia: I did not completely get your review. Can you e-mail me telling how my story does not flow? I would appreciate it  
  
To Yukina: I doubt that you will be reading this but oh well. The girl, Hermione Granger, you flamed was completely brand new at this, she had never written any fanfics before that one and it was not that badly written. It's okay if you don't like the plot, but the way she showed it and the way she explained it was proof that she does have the potential to be a very good writer. Your story, on the other hand, had a good plot but was badly written.  
  
Dimple: Happy belated Birthday.  
  
A/N: YOU NEED TO REREAD CH.17 BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER, IT IS IMPORTANT. IF YOU DO NOT THIS CHAPTER WILL NOT MAKE SENSE.  
  
Okay, now that I have wasted several minutes of your guy's lives we shall get on with the story....  
  
Chapter 18  
  
"Is revenge really this important to you Brian?" Holly asked as Brian clicked the keys of his laptop.  
  
"Who ever said that I was getting revenge?" Brian did not even bother looking at her. "I am a criminal and I am simply committing a crime."  
  
"A crime that's going to hurt tons of people, not to mention your family!"  
  
Brian smiled. "You don't even know what Brice and I have planned."  
  
Holly gritted her teeth. "No, but I do know that Brice is evil straight to his core. You do not need to be like him! You can walk away right now, you can end this!"  
  
Brian turned to the guards. "Would you be so kind as to gag her?"  
  
"Hey!" Cried Trouble. "Don't you dare hurt her!"  
  
"Him too," Brian nodded his head toward Trouble.  
  
Holly bit down hard as the man tried to shove the rope into her mouth. The man howled in pain as he pulled his hand away.  
  
"Shut up you fool!" Cried Brian, this time he did look up from his laptop. "You don't want our guests to arrive to early do you."  
  
The man immediately closed his mouth, glaring intently at Holly.  
  
"Thank you," Brian's voice dripped of venom. "Now please, gag them."  
  
~*~  
  
"Commander!" cried Foaly. "We're getting a signal from Holly and Trouble's iris cam!"  
  
Root immediately ran over to Foaly's computer.  
  
"I thought you said that the cams went dead."  
  
"They did," Foaly said as he clicked the buttons on his keyboard. "But for some reason they're back online."  
  
"That doesn't make any sense."  
  
"I know," Foaly leaned back and rubbed his forehead. "It's probably a trap, but it's all that we've got."  
  
Root sighed then turned to Becca. "Send a squad."  
  
She nodded. "Yes commander."  
  
She did not like this, not at all. It had to be a trap, from what she's heard about the Fowl's there's no way there stupid enough to leave the iris cams alone without having a plan. She could not argue with the commander though. All she can do is pray.  
  
~*~  
  
The retrieval squad walked uneasily into the dark rooms, their guns ready. Any problem and they were ready to shoot whatever moved that did not have pointy ears and an LEP badge.  
  
Grub gulped. He had to be tough; he had to save his brother. Then he would tell his mommy what a hero he was, and Trouble would back him up. That's how it would be, he would walk out of here just fine-  
  
"Nice of you to join us," came a calm, cool voice.  
  
The officers immediately circled around, tying to figure out who was talking.  
  
"Oh don't bother, you won't find me. See I'm not actually in there."  
  
Grub paled. He hadn't been on many missions, but he knew what was about to happen. He immediately turned to face the door, only to see it swing shut and lock.  
  
"I assume by now," continued the voice. "That you know what's going on. See when Henry was telling me about the people, he told me a fascinating story about how my father kidnapped a female named Holly Short, who I now have. What irony, but anyway, I noticed a specific part, a part where my father lured Commander Root to a ship, then blew it up. A little messy but I didn't see why it wouldn't work."  
  
At this point, the retrieval squad was trying there hardest to open the door, but it would not budge.  
  
"Au revoir," A huge explosion of fire erupted throughout the room.  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: I love this chappie. Please review. 


	19. Like Him

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl because I am not Eoin Colfer. HA! Now none of you can sue me! *Sticks tongue out*  
  
To Big Friendly Walrus: As I stated before, the e-mail incident is over. Forgive and forget, no one really cares anymore. Especially not me, so I again ask you to stop talking about it.  
  
For anyone or cares I didn't mean to sound rude in that letter to Ragna and I apologized for it.  
  
Chapter 19  
  
"We have lost contact with our retrieval agents," said Foaly to commander Root.  
  
"D'arvit," said Root, glaring at the computer. "What about the iris cams?"  
  
A worried expression crossed Foaly's face. "According to them, everyone is dead. We can't be sure though."  
  
"D'arvit," repeated the commander.  
  
"I don't understand how that mud boy could be beating my technology!" Said Foaly, exasperated.  
  
"Well you better find out," said Root as he grabbed a gun off the shelf.  
  
"Where are you going?" Foaly looked at him.  
  
"I think that kid needs a time out."  
  
~*~  
  
Brian leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I hope those little retrieval officers weren't of any importance to you."  
  
Trouble just stared into space, a look of sheer horror on his face.  
  
"How can you be so evil?" Demanded Holly.  
  
"Pure talent," Brian smiled.  
  
Holly glared at him. "You know it's ironic."  
  
"What is?"  
  
"That you are so much like the person that you hate most in this world."  
  
A shocked expression crossed Brian's face. 


	20. Is it worth it?

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl because I am not Eoin Colfer. HA! Now none of you can sue me! *Sticks tongue out*  
  
To Big Friendly Walrus: As I stated before, the e-mail incident is over. Forgive and forget, no one really cares anymore. Especially not me, so I again ask you to stop talking about it in my review board. I am being published by Be-Mused publishing, and the story title is Sicarmary. Weird title I know, but if you read the book you would understand. It's not in stores yet, but it will be in a year or so. The writer's name, though, will be Julianne Nicole Burton.  
  
For anyone or cares I didn't mean to sound rude in that letter to Ragna and I apologized for it.  
  
Chapter 20  
  
"I'm nothing like my father."  
  
"Actually, Artemis, you're very much like your father," said Holly with a smile. "Only I don't think that he ever plotted against his father."  
  
"Don't call me Artemis."  
  
"Well why not? That is your name after all." Holly could practically see the anger boiling in Brian.  
  
"My name is Brian," he said through gritted teeth.  
  
"Not by law."  
  
"This conversation is pointless," he stated, his calm back. "Shouldn't you be mourning the death of your comrades?"  
  
"They're not dead," said Holly. "LEP can get out of anything, I know that they survived."  
  
Holly's words were empty, to herself and to Brian. They both knew the truth.  
  
~*~  
  
"He is so grounded," said Amber as she slipped on a food wrapper and hit the floor.  
  
She and Artemis were in the cafeteria, which now looked like a food fight war zone.  
  
"I second that," said Artemis, helping her to her feet. "We've looked everywhere, where could he be?"  
  
"I don't know Fowl," Commander Root, who was walking across the cafeteria towards them, cutting Amber and Artemis's conversation short. "He has managed to capture Trouble and Holly though. He also," Root paused. "He also killed an entire retrieval team with a bomb."  
  
"Oh no," said Amber.  
  
~*~  
  
"You know, Brice is simply going to chew you up and spit you out," said Holly.  
  
"You know I could have sworn that I had you gagged earlier," said Brian as he hit the computer keyboard.  
  
"You need to listen to me..."  
  
"No, I don't, you have nothing to say that could possibly change my mind."  
  
"What has Brice promised you for your help?"  
  
"Nothing that is of any importance to you," Brian stared blankly at his computer screen.  
  
"Does it have to do with your father?"  
  
"Are all faeries this annoying, or is it just you?"  
  
"You're avoiding the question."  
  
"A question you have no right to ask."  
  
"And you're too scared to answer."  
  
Brian jumped to his feet, eyes burning fire. "You know nothing about me or my father."  
  
"I know enough," Holly's eyes softened. "Brian, I'm not trying to control you, but you can't work with Brice. He's nothing but a backstabber....."  
  
"I have to, it's the only way."  
  
"The only way for what?"  
  
"Something I need," Brian sat down.  
  
"Is it really worth it?"  
  
~*~  
  
"What if the boy doesn't pull through?" Asked one of the guards.  
  
"He will," said Brice with a smile. "I know he will." 


	21. Follow Me

Disclaimers are so freaking annoying! You know the drill, I'm not Eoin Colfer and I did not create Artemis Fowl.  
  
Ragna: That review was really sweet but you lost me at one part. You said something about no one being smarter then Artemis 2. Did you mean that I made it seem like someone was smarter? Cause I know that no one is....  
  
Oompa Loompa: Finally someone who is taking my side on this argument!!  
  
A/N: Sry guys, I realize that I might have confused you at one part. When Brian and Holly were having that conversation Brice was out of the room.  
  
Chapter 21  
  
"Someone help!" Cried Mulch in vain. He was still trapped in the bag that Brice's guards and shoved him into, and there didn't seem to be anyone around.  
  
"Help, please!" he tired again. No one replied. "D'Arvit," he mumbled.  
  
~*~  
  
"Did you hear that?" Amber asked, stopping abruptly. "It was a voice."  
  
Root and Artemis both stopped moving and listened intently.  
  
"I hear it," said Root. "And I think that I know who it is."  
  
~*~  
  
"Help...." Started Mulch, but then he was interrupted by a familiar voice.  
  
"Shut up convict, we're here."  
  
"Root? Is that you?" Mulch couldn't help but keep the disappointment from his voice. He was hoping that someone else would find him, it would make his get away easier. "Who's we?"  
  
"Artemis and Amber," said Root as he lifted the bag that Mulch was in down. "D'Arvit, you weigh a ton."  
  
"Because you're my rescuer I'm going to ignore that comment," Mulch tumbled out of the bag and gingerly stood up. "Man do I have such cramps from being in that little bag."  
  
"Spare us," said Amber. "How did you get up there?"  
  
"Why don't you ask your precious Brian? He can tell you," said Mulch, eyes flashing.  
  
Artemis groaned. "He's really getting around this place isn't he?" Then he turned to Mulch. "Do you know where he went?"  
  
Relief flooded through Artemis and Amber when Mulch nodded. "I know exactly where he and Brice went, follow me."  
  
A/N: Short I know, but I wanted a cliffy. Reviews please! 


	22. Plan

Disclaimer: I do not own Eoin Colfer and I am not Artemis Fowl. No..... wait...  
  
A/N: I read the Eternity Code, and I realize that some facts in my story counteract Eoin's third book, but since I started this story before I read the third book I'm not going to kill myself trying to change anything. We'll just have to pretend that some things are different. (  
  
You know the first time Artemis was in the chutes? Brian kind of has one of those moments.  
  
Chapter 22  
  
Brice had a plan. A beautiful, flawless, foolproof plan.  
  
Everything in Haven that had even a sliver of electronics in it was connected to a main database in-between the council building and the LEP headquarters. So all you had to do was get into the building, flick a couple of switches, and voila. This building was obviously guarded around the clock. Not even an ant could get into this building without Foaly knowing about it.  
  
First problem, how to get it. That problem was easily fixed when Brice ran into a certain kleptomaniac dwarf on a 'business' venture. After all of Foaly's gadgets and brilliance, he didn't even think to build a floor that could stand up to a dwarf. Pathetic.  
  
Second problem, how to work the computer's so that all the power can be shut off. Brice needed a computer smarty for that, one that was naïve enough to work with him.  
  
Check and mate.  
  
~*~  
  
"How safe is this shuttle?" Brian asked as he stepped into an LEP shuttle.  
  
"As safe as you can be in the chutes," replied Brice as he buckled himself into the passenger seat.  
  
"Very reassuring," mumbled Brian.  
  
When the shuttle jerked from its still position into motion Brian was knocked hard back into his seat. The speed and sound of the shuttle was shocking, so shocking that Brian could not speak for several minutes. The magma and fire in the shoot was beautiful, in a deadly sci-fi way.  
  
"Whoa," was all that he was able to get out. 


	23. Deceit

Disclaimer: I do not own Eoin Colfer and I am not Artemis Fowl. No..... wait...  
  
A/N: I jut noticed something: Artemis 1, Artemis 2, Artemis 3, Amber, Angeline, Aidan, they're all As! Okay, weird moment over...  
  
evil purple cliffie bunny: The third book IS out in the US, I've read it.  
  
Chapter 23  
  
"First time in the chutes is always a little rough," said Brice as he helped Brian off the shuttle.  
  
In response, Brian threw up.  
  
Brice laughed. "A human if I ever saw one."  
  
"My mother once took me to an American theme park. My sister made me go on a roller coaster with her, I hated it. This though, this was much worse."  
  
It was true, Brian felt awful. The suit that he had to wear so that the pressure underground didn't kill him wasn't very comfy either.  
  
Again, Brice laughed. "Follow me kid, I'll show you the main database, or ICP as Foaly calls it."  
  
~*~  
  
Within minutes, Brian found himself standing outside a large black building. Well, as much of a building as any faerie database could be.  
  
"It's incredible," said Brian. "How are we going to get in?"  
  
Brice didn't reply, but simply walked around to stand behind the fence that wrapped around ICP.  
  
"Look here," Brice pointed to the ground.  
  
Brian did look, though he wasn't sure what he was looking at. The area that Brice was pointing at looked just like a layer of dirt and more dirt to him.  
  
No, though Brian, a split second later. This area it different. The dirt here is darker.  
  
He glanced up at Brice, who had a bemused look in his face.  
  
"I suppose that you've noticed," said Brice as he nudged the darker area with his boot. It instantly vanished, revealing a small tunnel.  
  
"This is how you've been getting in," said Brian. "But who dug the tunnel for you?"  
  
For a second Brice's good-humored expression vanished. "That friend of yours from the Tara base."  
  
Brian was taken aback. "But Mulch acted as if you were the devil in disguise."  
  
"Well we had a few disagreements."  
  
Brian's eyes narrowed. "Such as?"  
  
"Just a difference in beliefs," Brice climbed into the hole, followed by one of his bodyguards, the other waited till Brian went in.  
  
The darkness in the tunnel enveloped Brian, making him shiver. The dark was the only thing wrong though. He was beginning to smell deceit.  
  
~*~  
  
"Brice wants Brian to help him destroy all of the faerie technology,minus Cudgeon's weapons," explained Mulch. "Brian is one of the few people that is smart enough to do this, and foolish enough."  
  
"What will Brice do with Brian after he rigs the computers?" Asked Amber.  
  
"He'll keep him around for a little while, as a hostage if for nothing else. No matter what happens though, Brian's life is in grave danger."  
  
"Which means," cut in Holly. "The sooner we get underground, the better."  
  
"I just hope that we won't be too late," said Artemis.  
  
A/N: Dun dun dun. Please review. 


	24. Everyone Everywhere

Disclaimer: I do not own Eoin Colfer and I am not Artemis Fowl. No..... wait...  
  
A/N: Sorry this post has taken so long, I'm getting kind of bored with this story. Please please PLEASE review, if I get 19 more reviews I'll have the most reviewed story on ff.net. Off course I have to thank BFW for making so many junk reviews.....  
  
Chapter 24  
  
Brian ran his fingers across the smooth surface of a metallic computer monitor. The room was large and dome shaped, filled to the brim with computers, electronic wings and other forms of scientific faerie creations.  
  
Everything in this room is a technological marvel, he silently thought.  
  
"Amazing huh?" Said Brice, as if reading Brian's mind.  
  
"Yes, they are," Brian turned to face Brice. "I don't know how you could expect me to work any of these though Brice, I've never seen faerie technology prior to when I entered the LEP base."  
  
Brice shrugged. "You come from a long line of intelligence, I'm sure that you'll figure it out."  
  
"And if I don't?"  
  
Again, Brice shrugged. "Then you don't. We just drop you back off at the manor, all deals off."  
  
Brian's blue eyes studied Brice. His smile was just a little too large.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis hates the shuttle ride to the underground. He always has. Beautiful as the tunnels may be, amazing as foaly's faerie technology is, nothing ever seemed worth it to him. Till now at least.  
  
"How long till we get to Brian?" asked Amber.  
  
"Not long," replied Holly. "Lucky for us the Tara base chute is near the ICP building."  
  
"What could Brian possibly be thinking?" Wondered Artemis in a whisper.  
  
"I don't know, but whatever it is it better be a good reason or he is going to be in big trouble," replied Amber.  
  
~*~  
  
"I don't get it," said Brian to Brice as he sat down at a computer. "Didn't your father already try something similar to this? If his plan failed then why do you think...."  
  
Suddenly Brice's good natured voice vanished into an angry growl. "My father's plan would have worked if it hadn't been for...." Brice cut himself off, seeing the shock I Brian's face. "My plan is different Brian, you haven't seen the whole picture yet."  
  
Brian nodded and began studying the computer schematics again. Though he looked calm on the outside, he was shaking on the inside.  
  
What have I gotten myself into?  
  
~*~  
  
"Why are we in here?" Asked Artemis impatiently as he sat down in Foaly's ops booth. "Shouldn't we be trying to stop Brice from destroying your technology and killing my son?"  
  
"It's not as simple as that," said foaly as he sat down across a table from the others. "You see, we always thought that if someone turned off all of our technology, it would be a human, not one of our own people."  
  
"So?" said Holly.  
  
"So we made a trigger," said Foaly. "I'm a little ashamed to say that it was my idea. See not only is ICP the main database for faerie technology, but it also controls all the human technology as well."  
  
Artemis took in a shaky breath. "So when Brian shut down everything in ICP, it will render all technology everywhere useless."  
  
"Wait," said Foaly, his frown deepening. "There's more. The other engineers and I didn't think that simply destroying their technology was enough. So we added another trigger, one that causes all human technology everywhere to explode when ICP is destroyed. This trigger is set up so well that even a gameboy wouldn't be able to get away. When the technology explodes, it will kill who ever is near it."  
  
Everyone was silent for several.  
  
"But with all the technology that the mud people have," started holly slowing.  
  
"Practically every human will die," said Foaly.  
  
A/N: Please review! 


	25. Tell Me

Disclaimers are so freaking annoying! You know the drill, I'm not Eoin Colfer and I did not create Artemis Fowl.  
  
Chapter 25  
  
Commander Root flashed his security badge in front of ICP's security officer's face.  
  
"Will you let us in now?" Demanded Root.  
  
The guard looked uncomfortably at Amber, Artemis, and the Butlers. By some sheer form of luck most of Haven has already laid down for bed, so the humans could walk freely throughout Haven. Only the occasional late worker saw them, and those few people simply thought that they were overworked and under rested.  
  
"What are all these humans doing down here?" The guard asked, shifting nervously as the eldest Butler laid a cold stare on him.  
  
"That is official LEP business," said Root, his face turning a deep set of purple. "Now if you don't want Brice Cudgeon to be Emperor of the world tomorrow, I suggest that you let us in."  
  
"Who's Brice...."  
  
"OPEN THE GATE NOW!" Cried Root.  
  
The young guard immediately yanked the gate open, letting the retrieval squad, Root, Holly, Foaly, and the humans in.  
  
"I still don't see why you had to come," said Root, glancing at Foaly as the walked up the building steps.  
  
"I know the network," said foaly calmly. "I did, after all, build it."  
  
Before Root could reply there was about a dozen guns pointed in there faces.  
  
"Nice of you to join us," came a gruff voice.  
  
"Victor Sean," said Root. "I should have know that you would be one of Brice's lackeys."  
  
"Oh I'm hardly his lackey," said Sean, his teeth glimmering as he smiled widely. "I'm his partner, a large part of this plan was my idea."  
  
"Oh I bet that you're really proud," said Holly.  
  
"Actually I am," replied Sean, his smile not even shrinking a millimeter. "But this small talk is pointless, if you would please relieve yourselves of your firearms."  
  
With much reluctance, especially from Butler, they all did.  
  
"Very good," said Sean. "Now please follow me."  
  
Root had every intention of following him, many lives would be risked if he didn't, but he refused to give in silently.  
  
"I can't believe you," he said to Sean as he and the others were pushed forward into the building after Sean. "After everything that's happened, you're a disgrace to your father's name."  
  
For the first time the smile vanished from Sean's face and a look of sheer hatred crossed. "Don't you talk about my father, don't you dare!"  
  
"I have every right to talk about your father," said Root. "I was his friend. I was by his side when he died. The death of a hero, he was a true hero. And here you are, working with everything that he hated...."  
  
"My father died like a fool!" Cried Sean. "He could have been great, truly great, and he threw it all away to save a couple of insignificant lives...."  
  
"Insignificant?!" Cried Holly. "How could any life be insignificant?!"  
  
"The first Cudgeon, Briar, offered my father a chance to work with him," continued Sean, ignoring Holly. "But like an idiot my father declined, resulting in his death during the triad uprising. And then, to top it all off, your precious council told all of Haven and the rest of the people that no lives were lost. The only one who has disgraced my father's name is my father."  
  
Root shook his head. "You can believe that all you want Vic, but that doesn't make it true."  
  
Sean chose to ignore Root's comment and didn't speak to them till they came upon the ICP main database.  
  
Inside that room they found about half a dozen more guards, a youthful human boy furiously typing on a keyboard, and a muscular young elf standing in the center of the room. Brice never looked happier.  
  
"Well, well, well," he said. "Sean, what have you brought me here? It looks like the legendary Commander Root, the LEP techi, and the infamous Artemis Fowl. How lovely of you to join our little get together."  
  
Artemis's eyes fell on Brian, who deliberately did not look at him.  
  
"So what now," said Root to Brice. "Are you going to brag about your master plan?"  
  
"I assume that you already know my master plan," replied Brice, taking a step backward and laying a hand on Brian's shoulder. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here."  
  
"If you do this," said Root, "it will be the biggest mistake of your life."  
  
"Really now," Brice's smile lengthened. "And what makes you say that?"  
  
"The LEP will never stop fighting, not even if you have the largest army in the world," continued Root. "And we will in the end triumphant."  
  
"Save me the heroics," said Brice, rolling his eyes. "When I have the world, no one will dare stand up to me."  
  
"And does Brian know?" interrupted Holly. "Does he know what will happen to the mudpeople....."  
  
A hand immediately clapped over her mouth.  
  
"Get them out of here," ordered Root abruptly.  
  
The LEP and humans were dragged from the room and locked in an empty room, guards at their door.  
  
~*~  
  
"What don't I know?" Asked Brian, his eyes narrowing at Brice.  
  
"It's not important," said Brice, with his usual fake smile.  
  
Brian immediately pushed his chair away from the computer. "I'm not dong anything until you tell me....."  
  
Brian's sentence was cut short as he felt a cold sensation on his temple, and his quick mind realized that there was a gun to his head.  
  
~*~  
  
Holly gingerly and slowly pushed a ceiling tile out of it's little square and swung her catlike body through.  
  
Within minutes the other officers and humans were all in the attic, and deciding their next move.  
  
A/N: Please Review! yay, this story's almost finished.... 


	26. Holly's Ruse

Disclaimer: I do not own Eoin Colfer and I am not Artemis Fowl. No..... wait...  
  
Becca: yeah, I found that out. Thank you for telling me though.;-)  
  
Chapter 26  
  
"If you kill me," said Brian calmly, though a voice on his inside was screaming. "Then there will be no one here to operate your precious plan."  
  
"Oh we wouldn't dream of killing you," said Brice, his smile growing even wider. "No, you're far too important. But we do have someone here that is very expandable."  
  
As if on cue the door to the main database flew open, and two of Cudgeon's lackeys dragged in a struggling blue eyed, raven-haired girl.  
  
"Aidan," breathed Brian.  
  
"Yes, your little twin Aidan. We found her in the Tara Base," said Brice, his smile vanishing. "She's such a pretty little thing, her death will be such a waste...."  
  
"I'll do it," said Brian weakly.  
  
"I beg your pardon," said Brice, looking at him. "I didn't quite catch that...."  
  
"I'll do it," said Brian loudly, not bothering to keep the hatred from his voice.  
  
"I knew that you would see things my way," said Brice with a smile.  
  
~*~  
  
"My retrieval squad could be killed!" Cried root.  
  
"They could be," agreed Artemis, "but it's the only way to get to Brice. We have to run that risk."  
  
"Its no risk for you though, huh Fowl?" snarled Root. "What do you care if half a dozen elves are killed? This is practically your fault anyway."  
  
Artemis brought in a deep breath through his nose and tried to keep his voice neutral. "Which is exactly why, Commander Root, that I am here helping you. Tell me, do you have a better plan?"  
  
Root glared at Artemis for several seconds before turning to his squad. "I won't force you to do this, but are you willing?"  
  
One by one, the squad nodded weakly.  
  
Root turned to Artemis. "We'll do it, but if any of my officers are hurt Fowl, I swear...."  
  
"We hardly have time for this Commander," said Artemis, brushing away root's threat as if it was nothing. "Here's the plan in full detail...."  
  
~*~  
  
Slowly, one by one the retrieval squad dropped into the hallway through an open vent.  
  
Trouble watched the officer in front of him drop down before he turned to Holly.  
  
"Make sure not to get yourself killed," he said with a small smile. "Whom would I compete with if that happened?"  
  
Holly smiled back weakly. "I'll stay alive you do."  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Well, I am going somewhere but not permanently."  
  
Holly smiled again, before, to Trouble's shock, she leaned in and kissed him.  
  
Holly turned around and crawled back to the humans, Foaly and Root, leaving Trouble sitting at the open vent. Trouble was smiling as he jumped through.  
  
~*~  
  
Holly slid back into the attic and sat by the others.  
  
"Are they in position?" Asked Artemis.  
  
"Yeah," replied Holly.  
  
"I still don't like this plan," said Foaly. "I can't follow you through the vents. Who will shut down the countdown is I'm not there?"  
  
"It's a chance that we have to take," said Root. "hell, if we get really lucky The countdown won't have started. Worse comes to worse, Artemis might be able to shut it off."  
  
"We'll be fine Foaly," said Holly encouragingly, "and so will all the mudpeople." She turned to the others. "let's get this over with."  
  
"Of course major," Artemis turned to look at the others. "Is everyone ready?"  
  
They all nodded and stood up, following Holly to the ventilation shaft.  
  
~*~  
  
Trouble crouched next to the other officers, in the wall camera's blind spot.  
  
"Let's go," he whispered to them.  
  
Fast as lightning they all sprinted from their hiding places, shooting a dozen shots off into the air, hitting everything in sight. No particular enemy, just firing random shots. Just like they were suppose to.  
  
~*~  
  
"What the hell?" Brice leaned forward I his chair, staring at the camera monitor. "What are those stupid officers doing?"  
  
"Sir," said one of the more intelligent lackeys timidly. "We have to stop them. If they keep that up then eventually they'll trigger a fuse and will lose all power. If that happens then we can't carry out the plan..."  
  
"WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?" roared Brice. "GET SOME OF OUR MEN DOWN THERE AND STOP THEM!"  
  
The lackey immediately scurried away to do just that.  
  
Brian allowed himself a small smile as he stared at the monitor, only to be knocked off his chair with a stinging feeling on his cheek.  
  
"I would just love to know what you find so amusing?" Brice said, staring at Brian, a crazed look in his eyes.  
  
Brian wanted nothing more then to pass a rude, clever comment, but he held himself back. He knew and recognized that look in Brice's eyes. This man was unstable, very unstable, and Brian was in no condition to go up against him.  
  
"Absolutely nothing," said Brian innocently.  
  
"Good," Brice spat out. "Now get back to work on that computer."  
  
Brian reluctantly stood up and went back to the computer, hoping, praying that the LEP would get to them soon.  
  
~*~  
  
Dust rose up around Holly as she steered her companions through the ventilation shaft.  
  
This is insane, she silently though. Too many things could go wrong.  
  
She stopped and turned to Artemis. "Are you sure about this?"  
  
Artemis nodded. "What other choice to we have?"  
  
She did not reply, but simply started moving forward again until they came to the vent of the ICP main database.  
  
Holly glanced through the slots. Then moved backwards to speak to her companions.  
  
"I see about 10 guards, Brice, and..." Holly hesitated for a second, "and the twins."  
  
"The twins?" said Amber in shock. "How did Aidan get here?"  
  
"I don't know, but it doesn't really matter either. It's too late to change the plan now," Holly shrugged. "It doesn't really need to be changed either."  
  
Amber nodded.  
  
"Let's proceed, but with caution. I expected less guards to be in this room when Trouble started his distraction," said Artemis, before turning to Amber. "Remember, cut the blue wire in the red box and the green wire in the blue box."  
  
Amber nodded, then she and Kyle turned around and crawled in the opposite direction from the others.  
  
"Good luck," Root said to Holly.  
  
Holly crawled away from them without a word towards the second room vent. Personally, Holly always thought that it was silly to put two vents in one room, but today she thanked the gods that Foaly had demanded this room's airflow.  
  
When she got to the other vent, she leaned back, took a breath to steady herself, and then kicked the metal slots from their hole.  
  
The instant the metal clanging rang throughout the room 11 guns were pointed at Holly, as she slowly climbed out of the shaft.  
  
"I'm turning myself in," she said, raising her hands up.  
  
"What?" Said Brice, his weapon not wavering.  
  
"I... am.. turning... Myself.. in...." she said very slowly, the way you would talk to a child that didn't understand things very well. "I decided that fighting against you would be stupid. By turning myself in I increase the chances I have of not being a fugitive when your brilliant plan succeeds."  
  
"Yes," said Brice, his arrogance getting in the way of his common sense. "This is the smartest thing that you could do. Another brilliant idea, though, would be to tell me where Root and Fowl are."  
  
"They went to the second corridor to disable the electricity," said Holly innocently.  
  
Brice turned to three of the guards. "Go to the second corridor, kill anyone that you see."  
  
While Brice's back was turned, Holly gave Brian a quick wink.  
  
Brice turned back to Holly and asked, "How do I know that you're not lying?"  
  
"Well surely," said Holly, letting her hands fall to her sides. "Then a strong, smart elf such as yourself would be able to tell if a little elf like me was lying." Holly batted her eyelashes flirtatiously.  
  
~*~  
  
"...Able to tell if a little elf like me was lying....."  
  
Root smiled to himself.  
  
"Holly's good at this," commented Artemis in a whisper.  
  
"I just hope that they don't find out and she doesn't get shot," said Root in a worried voice.  
  
"We'd better get moving," said Artemis to Butler.  
  
The two of them crawled to the other side of the room where the second vent was, while John and root stayed at the first.  
  
"Good looks and brains," Root heard Holly say in pretend awe.  
  
"Don't lay it on to thick," he mumbled more to himself then too John.  
  
~*~  
  
".... You must have girls all over you," said Holly, taking a step forward so that she stood right next to Brian.  
  
"I find it odd," started Brice. "That all this is being said by Major Short of the LEP."  
  
"Well," said Holly, choosing her words carefully, afraid that they may be her last. "The LEP does give me much of a chance to show my attraction to people."  
  
Brian rolled his eyes as he stared at the computer screen.  
  
"Yes well," said Brice, smiling, "Just to be sure that you're not lying to us...." He snapped his fingers and two of the guards stepped forward, checking Holly for weapons.  
  
They found no lethal devices, but they did find a strange disc in her pocket that they immediately handed to Brice.  
  
~*~  
  
In the ventilation shaft Root groaned.  
  
~*~  
  
"What's this?" Brice asked, waving the disc an inch from Holly's nose.  
  
"Music," said holly innocently. "Rockin' Sprites, it's my favorite band."  
  
"I don't see a label on it," said Brice, examining the disc skeptically.  
  
"The Rockin' Sprites don't put labels on their albums," she said. "They think that people should simply concentrate on the music."  
  
"Well then," said Brice. "Their music must be awfully good, I think that I might listen to a song."  
  
Brice pulled out a disc player and gently laid the 'album' inside it. He pushed play and immediately the small box exploded, destroying the entire player, everything but the disc.  
  
"If I didn't know any better," said Brice with a triumphant smile. "Then I would think that you were going to out this into the main computer here so that my plan won't be a success."  
  
Holly just glared at him.  
  
"That's what I thought."  
  
Brice pulled his gun up and Brian took a shuddering breath.  
  
Oh my God he's going to kill her, thought Brian, horrified. He clenched his eyes shut as tight as he could when the echoing bang rang out through the room. 


	27. Plan B

Disclaimer: I do not own Eoin Colfer and I am not Artemis Fowl. No..... Wait...  
  
A/N: As you all can see I have changed my pen name. I guess they made up a new rule about two people having the same pen name, and they kept on saying that my name was Nicole12, and I didn't want to be Nicole12...  
  
A/N: This chapter might seem a little H/A, but it's not I promise.  
  
Chapter 27  
  
Everything happened in slow motion for Holly. She saw Brice lift the gun, she saw him pull the trigger, and she saw the bullet shooting towards her. Her options shot through her brain. If she simply ducked the bullet would miss her, but Brice would know that she had not been shot and simply shoot her again. She had to take the bullet, and simply hope that the wound would not be fatal. She moved her body slightly to the left and felt the bullet go deep into her right shoulder. The impact through her off her feet, and she lay motionless on the ground.  
  
Brice smiled. "Well now that that's over..."  
  
Brian opened his eyes and stared blankly at the screen before he spoke. "You shot her," his voice was neutral, but there was an empty feeling inside of him.  
  
My fault, a voice in his head kept saying over and over again. It's all my fault....  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis's eyes widened in shock as he saw Holly land on the ground, blood pouring from her uniform.  
  
"Oh no," he whispered. "Holly...."  
  
Butler lay a hand on Artemis' shoulder. "She knew that there would be risks," he said, though he doubted that he had convinced Artemis. He hadn't even convinced himself.  
  
~*~  
  
Trouble heard a voice sound off over the intercom as his men continued to send random laser shots throughout the hallway.  
  
"Cease fire immediately," said the voice. "Or we will be forced to stop you ourselves."  
  
"Keep firing!" Trouble yelled to his comrades.  
  
Barely a minute later a squad of steroid pumped up elves ran into the hallway, taking cover behind various objects, and shooting at Trouble's men. Out of instinct, Trouble ducked behind a desk and was relieved to see his officers had reacted similar to he.  
  
I hope Holly's ok, thought Trouble.  
  
~*~  
  
"I'm losing my patience Fowl," Brice said as he stood at Brian's shoulder.  
  
"It will be a few more minutes," said Brian calmly, though his brain was working overtime.  
  
Brice grabbed Brian by the collar, lifting him out of the chair. "Cut that time in half and I might not kill you."  
  
He let go of him and Brian fell back in his chair. Hard.  
  
Brian's mind was working faster then most people, but he couldn't grasp a single idea that would get him out of this mess. Like trying to grasp a fish in a pond. All he could do was hope that his father would fix this.  
  
For him that was a thin hope.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis crawled through the vent, grief enveloping him. He was never friends with Holly, not really, but somehow it hurt him so deeply when she was shot. Maybe, somewhere in all that they had been through together they had bonded. He knew that he had to draw his mind off Holly though, plan B was waiting.  
  
They had created a plan A and plan B in the attic. Plan A was that Holly would get into the main database and destroy the main computer with foaly's bomb. That plan didn't work out. Plan B was that Artemis would connect his laptop to the system and destroy the computer through the inside. He prayed that Amber has succeeded in cutting those two wires, one controlled the security measures and the other controlled the protection of the computers. If she didn't cut the wires then he wasn't getting in.  
  
Artemis and Butler slid from the vent onto the floor. Artemis quickly plugged his laptop into a nearby outlet. After pressing the keys and typing in the password that Foaly had told him, Artemis was shocked to see these words flashing across the screen:  
  
ACESS DENIED  
  
Artemis slid one of Foaly's marvelous machines into his ear.  
  
"Talk to me Foaly," he said.  
  
"What do you want me to say?" came Foaly's voice through the earpiece. He almost sounded sad. "If it's not working then Amber didn't pull the wires."  
  
A lead ball dropped in Artemis's stomach.  
  
~*~  
  
Amber slipped gently from the vent to the floor of the fifth corridor, followed closely by Kyle.  
  
To her relief there was no one else in the hallway. That would have complicated things far too much. She nodded to Kyle and they crept down the hallway as quietly as possible.  
  
"Here it is," she whispered, opening a small electric box.  
  
She didn't think anything of it when Kyle didn't reply, that, not until she felt a cold sensation in the back of her neck and passed out.  
  
A/N: Don't really like this chapter much, but oh well. 


	28. Danger Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Eoin Colfer and I am not Artemis Fowl. No..... Wait...  
  
Dimple: You always leave the nicest reviews.(  
  
Evil Purple Cliffie Bunny: I know, I hope that you like this chappie better. The last chapter was more just telling everyone what was happening and setting Artemis up with his new plan.  
  
A/N: I just remembered something from TAI that doesn't quite match up with my story. See in TAI Foaly makes fun of the humans for still using wires and cords. In my fanfic the faeries are using wires that Amber needed to cut. I am immensely sorry for this mistake, but I can't change it now. Again I apologize and hope that you might still be able to enjoy the story.  
  
Chapter 28  
  
Amber didn't know how long she'd been unconscious, she just knew that when she awoke she experienced the worst pain imaginable. When she was young, around 9 or 10, she had a wart on her leg removed by the doctor with nitrogen peroxide. She could still remember how it burned and froze at the same time. It stung a little, but the pain wasn't much. Now though she felt like the nitrogen was running through every vein in her body, filling her lungs and making it painful to breath. She couldn't think of anything but the pain.  
  
She didn't even notice when a hand touched her chin pulling her mouth open slightly and laying the mouthpiece of a bottle on it. She did notice though when a warm liquid poured out of the nozzle, dumping into her mouth. She coughed and spit out the liquid, not caring that it went all over her face and neck.  
  
"Drink it," said a voice, soft but stern. "It will help."  
  
Amber tried to open her eyes, to see the person who was speaking, but when she did everything was a blur, she could only see a blob of color where the person who owned the voice must be.  
  
Amber didn't know who it was, and she especially didn't know whether she could trust them or not, but she did know that she didn't have another choice. The pain was excruciating, and she would do anything to make it go away. So she opened her mouth and let the stranger pour the liquid in.  
  
She felt the hot liquid rush down her throat, warming every part of her body and relieving her veins of the immense pain. As soon as the pain was gone though, Amber fell into a deep sleep.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis crept down the hallway, the ever-vigilant Butler staying near, watching him with a wary eye like he always had. Whoever...... Or whatever stopped Amber from cutting those wires might still be in the hallway.  
  
"The wire box is open," whispered Artemis. "That means that she must have gotten here, but was snatched from this spot."  
  
Artemis reached in and quickly clipped the wires.  
  
"Whatever took Amber and Kyle is gone now," commented Butler.  
  
Artemis sighed. He had half hoped that the "whatever" would still be there, it would help them find Amber sooner.  
  
He sat on the ground, his laptop propped up in his lap. He started typing furiously, till the relief filling words appeared on the screen.  
  
ACESS GRANTED  
  
He smiled. "Foaly, Root, we're in."  
  
~*~  
  
It took all of Holly's strength to keep her magic from scurrying to her shoulder wound and healing it. She could smell her own blood, and she longed to move from the painful angle that her body was in, but she didn't dare risk notifying Brice that she was alive.  
  
Brice sighed impatiently. "What's taking so long?" he demanded.  
  
Before Brian could reply, the computer went dead. And Brice had his hands around Brian's throat.  
  
"What did you do?!" Brice roared his eyes burning threateningly.  
  
"I didn't do anything!" Said Brian, trying to wiggle from Brice's grasp.  
  
Brice hit him open-handedly. "That's a lie Fowl, and you don't want to lie to me."  
  
"I'm not lying," said Brian, now on the ground from the blow. "I didn't do anything, it must have been the LEP."  
  
"Tie him up," said Brice, turning to one of the guards. "The rest of you alert our soldiers to pull back from the LEP forces, I think that they're only a distraction. Something is afoot here."  
  
~*~  
  
"D'Arvit," said Trouble as he saw his enemies start slowly backing out of the corridor. "Root," He said into his walkie. "Cudgeon's on to us, the troops are pulling back."  
  
"D'Arvit," Root swore. "Retreat then regroup in room D206, John and I, and with any luck Artemis and Butler will be there to meet you."  
  
Trouble gave the orders and within 4 minutes he and his team were in room D206 waiting for their commander.  
  
~*~  
  
Amber opened her eyes and was flooded with relief at her clear vision. The pain in her lungs was gone. Even her headache was gone.  
  
"Feel better?" asked the voice that gave her the warm liquid earlier.  
  
"Yes, thank you," she said, turning to the voice.  
  
Sitting a few feet away from her was a pretty young elf with brown hair and green eyes. She looked awfully familiar...  
  
"I was your guard when the LEP put you under arrest," said the girl, as if reading her mind. "My names Rebecca Moss, but you can call me Becca. You're Amber Fowl, right?"  
  
"Right," replied Amber. "Do you know where we are?"  
  
Becca shook her head. "No, Kyle and I were just talking about that."  
  
Amber looked to the other side of her where she saw the familiar features of her son's bodyguard.  
  
"This prison must have taken a nice chunk of change to built," Amber mused as she studied her cell.  
  
It was a giant square box, no windows and no doors that she could see. All black marble. Not a piece of furniture insight, save the single lamp on the ceiling that sent off an eerie glow of light.  
  
"We noticed that too," said Kyle.  
  
"So we speculate," continued Becca, "that this prison is in Brice's home."  
  
"Why Brice's home?" Asked Amber. "His father was nothing but an LEP lackey..."  
  
"True," agreed Becca, "but his mother, Primrose Stonewall, was filthy rich. Most people think that's why Briar married her. Anyway, right after Briar's death she committed suicide, leaving Brice with quite a bit of cash."  
  
Amber nodded. "So, any escape plans?"  
  
No one spoke.  
  
~*~  
  
Artemis and Butler stepped into the LEP's grouping room, where the commander has already started the meeting. Root had contacted them shortly after he got off the line with Trouble.  
  
"Thanks to Artemis," continued Root, barely acknowledging their entrance. "The computers are down and Brice cannot launch his virus. But now, ladies and gentleman, is the real danger time. Now Brice is mad, and he's going to come after us with a few really big guns."  
  
A/N: I don't like this chapter anymore than the last one. Goodness what's wrong with me. Anyway, I'll work extra hard on the next one. 


	29. Sewage

Disclaimer: I do not own Eoin Colfer and I am not Artemis Fowl. No..... Wait...  
  
Chapter 29  
  
"Why don't we just go in blasting?" Asked one of the lieutenants.  
  
"Because Captain Short is in there," answered Root, glaring at the officer. "And she's already shown so much bravery on this mission that we owe it to her not to risk injuring her."  
  
"Not to mention my children," cut in Artemis.  
  
"Honestly Fowl, I couldn't give a dwarf's hair about your offspring," cried Root, his face reddening. "It's that boy's fault that we're in this mess in the first place."  
  
"No," said Artemis. "It's Brice's fault. How was Brian to know that he was being used?"  
  
"Well if the boy's as smart as he's been made out to be then he should have known!" cried Root.  
  
"This isn't helping Holly," Trouble cut in from across the room. "She trapped in there bleeding and she can't even heal herself or else they'll kill her!"  
  
Any other time Root would have suspended him for speaking to his superior like that, but now was not the time. Plus he was right.  
  
"So what do we do?" an officer asked.  
  
Root rubbed his temples. He needs a plan, and he needs one fast.  
  
~*~  
  
Brian wiggled against the ropes that were wrapped around him hands and feet. Needless to say, he was not very happy. He's a Fowl, meaning that he had impeccable blood. He's also a genius, true he's not as intelligent as his father, but extremely intelligent nonetheless. Yet, he had been toyed with, tricked and painfully tied up. His pride has taken quite a beating on this little venture.  
  
Moreover, to top it all off, he was lying next to Captain Short's dead body, which made him cringe.  
  
Therefore, you can imagine how much it freaked him out when her hand moved.  
  
He immediately jerked back, which was very difficult because his feet and hands were bound. He glanced up at the two guards, who were having an argument over their go fish game. Everyone else was out of the room either guarding the doors, trying to find the LEP squad, or trying to get the computers started again. After deciding that they really were not paying attention, he leaned towards Holly.  
  
"Are you still alive?" he asked softly in disbelief.  
  
She groaned a little in response.  
  
"You've lost so much blood," he commented as he stared at the puddle of liquid that surrounded her. "Is there anything I can do?"  
  
Her eyelids flickered a little then opened drowsily and rested on him. "Don't..." she started, "let... me..... fall.... asleep...."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Magic....." was all that she choked out.  
  
Brian sat baffled for several moments before he understood. Faeries can heal themselves, meaning that if she fell asleep her magic would go an autopilot and he was sure that the guards would notice if Holly was suddenly covered in blue sparks.  
  
He knew that he had to do something though, if he didn't she would surely die before the LEP came to the rescue. And if she died he didn't know if he could live with the guilt.  
  
He desperate eyes found a discarded jacket lying beside a chair. He inched over to it with much difficulty and was able to pick it up in his bound hands. He went back to Holly at a painfully slow speed and sat with his back to her, applying pressure with the jacket against her shoulder wound. He prayed that the guards didn't turn around.  
  
~*~  
  
"Brice is smart, going through the vent won't work. We tried it before....." The shuffling of papers interrupted Root's voice. He glanced in the direction of the noise and saw Artemis holding a stack of blueprints to the building.  
  
"What in the name of Frond are you doing?" Root demanded, glaring at him.  
  
"These ground pipes," Artemis started, ignoring Root's question. "Are they active?"  
  
"No," replied Root, raising an eyebrow. "Some how mice and bugs were getting into them so we shut them down and put in new ones that ran only through the wall."  
  
"They seem awfully big."  
  
"A lot of fires were started in a place like this, we needed lots of water. So what?"  
  
Artemis smiled.  
  
~*~  
  
The stench of the pipes was almost unbearable, making everyone in them gag and want to vomit.  
  
"Fowl, this better work or I swear I will blue rinse your house," said Trouble as he sunk into a particularly disgusting mound of sewage.  
  
"It'll work," Artemis said simply. He wished inside that he was a sure as he acted. Many things could go wrong with this plan. 1) the pipe area that they planned to climb out from could have been sealed over the years, 2) if they did get out of the pipe then the floor that they plan to go through could have been redone and they might not be able to get through, 3) There could be a hundred guards in that computer room and they wouldn't know it if the decoy LEP failed. Needless to say, Artemis was worried.  
  
~*~  
  
Chix smiled to himself as dust rose around him. Easy job, go through the vent to the computer room, look through and radio Root telling him how many guards there are. Then sit back and relax while they do the fighting. Yep, Chix was very proud of himself for weaseling out of dragging himself through sewage.  
  
Chix stopped by the vent grid and glanced through. Two guards, three prisoners. Piece of cake. He radioed Root and told him this.  
  
"Only two?" said Root in disbelief. "Brice is too smart for that, he's up to something. Keep an eye open Private Verbil, and radio in any activity."  
  
"Yessir," said Chix. Even though he had no intention of watching out for anything. Two guards, what could possibly happen?  
  
~*~  
  
"Only two?" said Trouble over the radio to Root. "Are you sure that Chix isn't mistaken?"  
  
"Either way," said Root. "Keep on your toes. Anything can happen."  
  
There were two teams in the pipes. One headed by Root which was on it's way to the outside of the main database to fight the mercenaries out there, another, headed by Captain Kelp, was on it's way to save Holly and the twins.  
  
To Trouble's own personal shock Artemis reached up and snatched the com from him. "Did Chix say anything about seeing Amber?" Artemis asked.  
  
"No nothing," said Root. "I'm sure that we'll find her though."  
  
~*~  
  
Chix leaned his head back, shifted his body into a comfortable position, and started to doze. His own bad luck stepped in though, and he leaned a little too far back. The grid caved under his weight and he found himself falling to the floor right beside the human girl. The guards may have been thick, but they weren't that stupid.  
  
"Hey look," said one. "A sprite."  
  
"Must be one of that Root guys," said the other. "Better call Brice."  
  
A/N: All I got so far, please review! 


	30. Unexpected

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.  
  
Darklight ascendant: Yeah, I make a lot of mistakes with tenses and then just simple grammatical errors. It's my biggest flaw, I'm always so eager to post the new chapter that I don't proofread it. Thanx for the review. Oh and in answer to your question, Holly didn't heal herself because the guards would notice when they turned around if one minute she was wounded and the next she was healed.  
  
Becca and Dragoness Fighter: thanx for the reviews!  
  
Chapter 30  
  
Brice stormed through the door with a hue on his face almost red enough to rival Root. Almost.  
  
He immediately snatched Chix up and held him by the throat aloft. "Where is Root?"  
  
Chix shook his head. "I don't know."  
  
Brice threw him down roughly. "You're a liar Verbil. You can act like a brave soldier all you want, it doesn't matter. Root will fail and I will become ruler of the world, and if you help me you will reap much better benefits then if you help the LEP."  
  
"I can't betray my friends," said Chix. The first act of real bravery in his life.  
  
Brice's eyes burned fire. "Fine, have it your way." He turned to one of his mercenaries and said, "tie him up with the others, and kill him and the humans if anyone tries to break through." Brice turned and walked out of the room.  
  
~*~  
  
Root lifted himself from the floor, and kept watch while his officers did the same. After they were all in the hallway way he slid the tiling back in place.  
  
There were about fifty guards around the corner, surrounding the computer room. Root had about twenty-five to thirty men. The odds were uneven, extremely uneven. Just the way Root liked them. A hard battle made him feel young again.  
  
"Is everyone ready?" He asked softly.  
  
They nodded, Root lifted his neutrino and fired.  
  
The blast blew out the brains of one of the guards, and alerted his companions that they had company.  
  
Everyone was firing now, bodies were falling all over. The battle had begun.  
  
~*~  
  
"We better come out here," said Artemis, touching the ceiling above him and the officers.  
  
"Why?" Asked trouble.  
  
"If the diagram that Foaly showed us of this room is correct, we should come out behind a row of desks," explained Artemis. "The odds of the guards spotting us are less likely...."  
  
He was interrupted by a voice that was coming in over the headsets  
  
"You're a liar Verbil. You can act like a brave soldier all you want, it doesn't matter. Root will fail and I will become ruler of the world, and if you help me you will reap much better benefits then if you help the LEP."  
  
"I can't betray my friends."  
  
"Fine, have it your way. Tie him up with the others, kill him and the humans if anyone tries to break through."  
  
"Wow," said a nearby private. "Chix was actually brave."  
  
"D'arvit," said Trouble. "This means that two of our officers are captured. We'll have to be careful to keep them out of the crossfire when we get in there."  
  
With that, Trouble put his weight on the large tile above his head and pushed it out. It made a scarping sound that all of them froze at, but when nothing reacted, they sighed and climbed out.  
  
The ten of them sat hunched behind a row of desks, Butler with more difficulty then the others. Trouble cautiously glanced around the desk corner to see the two guards; Holly lying on the ground next to Chix and Brian, and across the room Aidan sat tied to a chair. He had a clear shot of the guards, and he took it without hesitation.  
  
Both of them were on the ground within two minutes, one dead, and one alive but not getting up for a long time.  
  
~*~  
  
The minute Holly's glazed eyes saw those guards go down, she released her magic and sighed with relief, the pain dimmed, and the life returned to her.  
  
Trouble ran to her side and leaned over her. "Are you alright? Do I need to find a medic?"  
  
Holly choked out a small laugh. "No Trouble, just give me a minute and I'll be fine."  
  
Artemis untied Aidan and Brian, not saying a word to either of them. A fellow LEP officer, who congratulated him on his bravery, untied Chix.  
  
"It was nothing," said Chix, not without a trace of his ego. "Bravery just comes easy to some of us."  
  
Holly rolled her eyes as she allowed Trouble to help her up.  
  
"There's a battle going on outside," she said, hearing the fire. "We better get out to it."  
  
"All you need to do is stay here," said Trouble, gently shoving Holly into a chair. "We'll help Root, you've been through too much."  
  
Holly opened her mouth to protest, and then realized that it was no use. Trouble was dead set in keeping her there.  
  
Trouble turned to the humans. "You stay here too, this shouldn't take long."  
  
Trouble, followed by his officers, ran out the doors to the battle, where Brice's guards found themselves surrounded.  
  
~*~  
  
"How did you end up here?" Amber asked Becca.  
  
"I'm not sure," Becca replied, shaking her head. "The last thing I remember is starting off to go see Thorn to help him with his homework, then a cold sensation in my neck and then I woke up here."  
  
"Where did you get that liquid that you used to help us?" asked John.  
  
"It's an LEP potion that the warlocks whip up in huge stocks for us. Just add a zip of magic and it cures everything. Well..... not everything.... but a lot of stuff."  
  
Amber had long since fallen out of the conversation. Her mind was too busy wondering what had happened with Artemis and Brian.  
  
~*~  
  
"Please tell me that you have some compunction for what you've done," Artemis turned cold eyes on Brian.  
  
Brian just shrugged, not looking at him.  
  
Artemis grabbed his chin and forced his face up. "Look at me when I talk to you. Do you not care that you've hurt people?"  
  
At that moment, Brian shocked everyone in the room. He started crying.  
  
Artemis didn't know what to do. Yelling he could have handled, rude comments he could have handled, breaking things, apologizing, Artemis expected everything but this. How was he supposed to react to crying?  
  
So he did what he had never done before, he hugged him.  
  
A/N: Please review! 


	31. Cudgeon's Secret

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Eoin except the stuff that belongs to me.  
  
Thank you all who reviewed!  
  
Chapter 31  
  
Trouble's heart pounded as the lasers flashed around his head. That was what he lived for; that was who he was, a soldier through and through.  
  
Less fire now. They must have taken out the majority of Brice's men by firing off crazy shots. Trouble peeked around the corner and saw that there were only about five guards left. He took one out with a careful shot, his comrades disposed of the rest.  
  
"Where's Brice?" Root demanded.  
  
No one spoke. At least not until the heard the whoosh of a door, then all hell broke loose.  
  
"He got away!"  
  
"D'arvit!"  
  
"We should have kept a better look out for him!"  
  
Root hushed everyone with a raise of his hands. The first words he said were into his mike: "Foaly, put this building into lockdown mode immediately."  
  
"Yes commander, when would you like me to do this?"  
  
"IMMEDIATELY!"  
  
"Now now commander," said Foaly in a mother-like tone. "Remember your blood pressure."  
  
A few of the more daring officers snickered.  
  
"Foaly....." started Root.  
  
"Finished," said Foaly.  
  
Root looked up at his officers. "Find Brice."  
  
They were moving before he finished speaking.  
  
~*~  
  
"Where's mom?" Aidan asked as she spun around in a swivel chair.  
  
"I don't know," admitted Artemis, looking at the ground. "We lost contact with her when she went to power down the computers."  
  
Aidan glared at Brian, who was sitting as far away from everyone else as he possibly could.  
  
"You can't possibly blame me!" protested Brian at her glare.  
  
"Oh I blame you," she replied.  
  
"I was tricked," he mumbled half-heartedly.  
  
She didn't say anything, just continued with her evil death stare.  
  
Everyone jumped, except maybe the Butlers, when the door shot open and Root came in.  
  
"We can't find Brice, but we know that he's still in the building," Root said.  
  
"Good, we can't lose him," replied Artemis. "He's the only one who knows where Amber and Kyle are."  
  
~*~  
  
Twenty years earlier, when ICP was first built, Briar Cudgeon had been one of the LEP guards overlooking the site. They protected it from punk kids who might have wanted to mess up a government building just for the fun of it. As you probably guessed though, that's not all that Cudgeon did. His wallet became considerably empty on this venture, but ever since the Artemis Fowl affair, he liked to be prepared for anything.  
  
Therefore, he bribed some of the workers to put in a secret basement area, much like a dungeon. No one was to know about it, not even Foaly. The builders were skeptical at first, but the minute they had all that gold in their hands they would have gone to their knees and kissed Cudgeon's feet to keep it. So, they built the basement. Then Cudgeon murdered them and took back his money. He lost nothing.  
  
At the time, Cudgeon had no idea why he desired this secret place so much, it was just an instinct. Every good soldier knows to trust his instincts.  
  
That was were Brice was heading. When Brice turned 35, his father had told him about the basement. After his father's death and Brice developed his revenge plan, he was thrilled about it. It came in handy in some situations, like, for example, if you wanted to hide the wife of a billionaire, her kid's bodyguard, and an LEP academy student.  
  
He pressed a button on a small compact remote that he had been carrying in his pocket. A wall that seemed perfectly ordinary slid away to reveal a staircase. A staircase that led to a large black room.  
  
Brice quickly ran down the stairs, closing the door behind him. They would never find him down there.  
  
~*~  
  
"He went down this hallway!" Called Trouble to his fellow officers.  
  
They raced after Brice, only to freeze when they came to a dead-end.  
  
Trouble looked around. "But I saw him come down here, I know I did!"  
  
"Where could he have gone?" wondered another soldier aloud.  
  
Trouble sighed. "At least we know he's still in the building. Let's head back upstairs and consult with Commander Root."  
  
A/N: Not much of a cliffy and the chapter is short, sorry guys. Please review! 


	32. Winners and Losers

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine but what is mine.  
  
Thank you all who reviewed!  
  
kris x: dude, what's wrong with you? Why is it that everything I write you seem to hate? If you didn't like my first piece then why read more? You need to chill out.  
  
Chapter 32  
  
"Good evening," a calm voice floated throughout the darkness.  
  
Amber, John, and Becca shot to their feet.  
  
"Brice," Becca breathed softly.  
  
"Oh, so you've heard of me?" He seemed amused.  
  
"Of course," she hissed out, not bothering to keep the venom from her voice. "Every faerie and their brother-in-law has heard of you. Not in the good way though."  
  
"How that wounds me," he mocked.  
  
"You'll be more wounded when Commander Root gets a hold of you!" cried Becca.  
  
Suddenly lights instead of darkness surrounded them, and they could see Brice clearly.  
  
Brice wagged a finger in front of her nose. "If he gets a hold of me. No one knows about this little cell except for me, you three, and a bunch of dead people."  
  
The confidence in Becca's face dropped a notch, but she still was able to muster up a reply. "That's what you think. Foaly has his ways."  
  
"Just tell yourself that little faerie," Brice pat her head, and she immediately jerked back.  
  
"Learn from the mistakes of others," she said, glaring fire at him.  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "And what is that suppose to mean?"  
  
"It means," she started, her confidence back. "That your father failed, and so will you. You'll end up crazy and deformed, just like him."  
  
The next thing Becca knew she was lying on the ground with a stinging cheek.  
  
"My father was a great man!" Brice shouted, an insane glint in his eye. "And if it wasn't for your precious commander Root," he looked at Amber. "And your husband then he would be ruler of the world! He died before he could accomplish his dream though, and now, even though my hope of taking over the world is gone, I will do one thing for him. I'll kill Commander Julius Root and Artemis Fowl."  
  
~*~  
  
"Is there anyway we can find him?" Demanded Trouble.  
  
Foaly was speaking with the LEP through a screen and communicator.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Now think Trouble, if I could something that wouldn't I have done it by now?"  
  
Trouble glared at him. "We have to do something!"  
  
"Calm down captain," said Root. "We are going to do something, we just don't know what yet."  
  
Suddenly, before Trouble could reply, a face appeared beside Foaly's. It was the face of a young elf cadet, completely out of breath.  
  
"Commander!" cried the elf. "Cadet Rebecca Moss has gone missing!"  
  
"What?!" said Holly, jumping to her feet.  
  
The boy's voice sped up into a panicky tone. "She's gone, she was suppose to be helping me with my homework because I don't get piloting and she never showed up so I went to go look for her and she's not anywhere on the base! I think that Brice might have taken her!"  
  
"Or maybe she blew you off," suggested Foaly.  
  
The boy glared at him briefly before remembering his place. "No, she wouldn't do that. It was Brice, definitely."  
  
"We could scan for her suit," said Holly. "Foaly had chips installed in all of them after the Artemis Fowl affair."  
  
"I'm perfectly aware of that Short," said the Commander, then he sighed. "Foaly, do the scan."  
  
"Why would he take Becca?" wondered Trouble aloud while Foaly scanned.  
  
"Hard to say," Holly said thoughtfully. "Maybe he wanted to have a prisoner that the LEP would care about?"  
  
"That's weird," mumbled Foaly, staring at his computer screen.  
  
"What is?" Commander Root demanded.  
  
"According to my scanner, Becca's underground."  
  
"Aren't we all?" Chix asked, a little to casual.  
  
Holly glared at him.  
  
"Not what I meant Verbil, but you'd know that if you would shut up and listen," Foaly looked at them through the screen. "It says that she's underneath ICP, right below corridor 10."  
  
"That's where Brice vanished at!" said Trouble, almost excitedly.  
  
Commander Root grabbed his neutrino off a desk and hooked it to his belt. "Short, Kelp, Brock, Verbil and Rose, you're coming with me. The rest of you, stay here and pay attention to those coms, we may need you down there in a minute."  
  
With that, Root and his five officers headed out of the database down to corridor 10.  
  
~*~  
  
Holly hunched on the ground, staring at a wall. It looked exactly like every other wall in the 10th corridor, white and smooth. If there was some sort of door there, it was hidden well.  
  
She sighed and stood up. "Nothing here Commander."  
  
Root rubbed his temples. "There has to be something. That Pony's annoying, but he's hardly ever wrong."  
  
"I don't see anything either," said Chix, leaning back on a wall. "And if there was something here I'd notice it."  
  
"Look!" Holy pointed at Chix, or rather, behind him. "The wall, when Chix leaned on it it caved a little!"  
  
Chix moved and the other five ran up to examine the wall.  
  
"She's right," said Lieutenant Rose. "The wall caved when he was here, but molded back when he moved."  
  
"Everyone stand back," said Root, pulling a small hand grenade from his pocket.  
  
They all moved. After all, who wanted to end that way?  
  
~*~  
  
The silence around Amber had been deafening, and the sudden noise had made her jump out of her skin. Something had blown from above her and the others.  
  
"D'arvit," said Brice, pulling out his own neutrino and waiting for the smoke to clear enough for him to see.  
  
"Come out here Brice and we'll go easy on you," a voice came from the smoke and debris. Commander Root's voice.  
  
Brice knew he was hugely outnumbered, he also knew that if he fired they wouldn't hesitate to shoot him. None of that mattered though, all he could think about was revenge. Therefore, he started shooting, and in reply so did they.  
  
Strangely, Brice was able to dodge the majority of their blasts for several moments, but then one nailed him in the leg. He fell over in pain.  
  
With a wave of his hand, Root stopped the fire, then walked grimly over to Brice and bent down next to the fallen body.  
  
"It's over Brice," the commander said calmly.  
  
Brice spat at him. "It'll never be over, you'll never be rid of me!"  
  
Suddenly one of the larger chunks of debris hit Brice in the temple, knocking him out cold.  
  
"Whoops," said Holly innocently.  
  
A/N: Wow, only one more chapter to go. I can't believe that I'm almost finished! Anyway, please review! 


	33. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine but what is mine.  
  
Epilogue  
  
The LEP medics searched the remains of the blowout, hoping, praying to find some survivors.  
  
"Look, over here!" One called to the others. "This one was running hot when the explosion occurred, his magic helped him stay alive!"  
  
The rest of the medics immediately ran over to help inspect the man.  
  
"Let's get him out of here," said the leader as he checked the id. "And contact Corporal Grub's family."  
  
~*~  
  
"I'm sorry for the trouble that my son has caused," Artemis said to Commander Root.  
  
"Yeah, sure. Just get the kid out of here, your lucky that I'm in a good mood," Root replied, his face strangely only a pinkish color.  
  
Artemis turned to Holly. "You too Holly. You almost died helping him, and I appreciate that."  
  
Artemis glanced to his left where Brian stood, looking very uncomfortable. He prodded his shoulder a little. Brian sighed then studied the floor, mumbling, "I'm sorry too. It won't happen again."  
  
Holly raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he demanded.  
  
"Are you really sorry?" she asked.  
  
"Well, it's not like anyone was seriously hurt.... that officer from the blowout lived and...."  
  
He didn't get to finish his sentence, it was interrupted by a sharp punch to his nose.  
  
He fell backwards roughly then, with a shocked face, looked up at Artemis. "She hit me!" He cried, more out of shock then anything else.  
  
"Yes," said Artemis with a small smile. "She does that."  
  
~*~  
  
A week after Brice's arrest....  
  
"Three centuries in Howler's peak," said Holly, shaking her head. "I almost feel sorry for Brice."  
  
"He asked for it," said Trouble.  
  
They were sitting in the officer's lounge at the LEP headquarters drinking coffee.  
  
"Yeah, but all those goblins?" she smiled. "What if stupidity is contagious?"  
  
He smiled back. "Brice is really screwed then isn't he?"  
  
"I wonder what's going to happen with Brian," she commented, refilling her cup.  
  
"I still want to know what he wanted from Brice in return for his help," replied Trouble. "Power, money, the possibilities are endless."  
  
"I think it's one of those things that we'll never know," replied Holly. "Maybe it's better that way, being able to make guesses about it. Adds a little interest to life."  
  
Trouble shifted uneasily. "There's something else I've been wondering about."  
  
Then, without a hint or warning, Trouble leaned forward and kissed Holly gently.  
  
Holly was completely shocked, but for some reason, she didn't pull back.  
  
~*~  
  
Journal Entry Artemis Fowl the third March 17, 2023  
  
We arrived home a few days ago, much to my own happiness. I must try to hold on to this joy, because I think that it's the only moment I'm going to have for a long time. Even after my humiliating outburst of emotion back at ICP, my father was and is still livid. Needless to say, I'm not going anywhere till I graduate.  
  
To be completely honest though, I'm not very upset about being "grounded," as Aidan calls it. I wouldn't trade this last adventure for anything. It's true that I hurt people, and some deaths were my fault, and for that I am sorry. But I learned something about myself, something that I'm glad I now know.  
  
My plans, or rather Brice's plans, might have fallen through, but I did not come out empty handed. In pursuit of the wish that Brice promised me, my father finally realized that I am alive. In this realization, the first part of my wish was granted. I asked Brice to make my father notice and love me, for who I am, not who he wants me to be. I'm not sure if we're quite there yet, but Brice's scheme knocked us on to that path. For that I thank him everyday.  
  
THE END  
  
A/N: Wow...... It's over..... I feel..... Empty...... yet full..... 


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